Stress and Interface Engineering of Functional Materials

可以说，最重要的一类功能材料是压电材料。压电是机械变形和电荷的耦合，是许多先进器件的材料特性。目前的应用，包括陀螺仪，加速度计和麦克风，是必不可少的消费电子，汽车和航空航天工业-所有重要的加拿大经济部门。此外，创新的微机电系统（MEMS），生物传感器和执行器将需要通过“物联网”发展明天的经济。

Arguably the most important class of functional materials is piezoelectrics. Piezoelectricity, the coupling of mechanical deformation and electrical charge, is the enabling material property for many advanced devices. Current applications, including gyroscopes, accelerometers, and microphones, are essential for the consumer electronics, automotive, and aerospace industries – all important branches of the Canadian economy. In addition, innovative microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), biosensors, and actuators will be needed to develop tomorrow’s economy with the “internet of things”.