Computation of Undiscovered Piezoelectrics and Linked Experiments for Design

Project Personnel

Geoff Brennecka

Principal Investigator

Colorado School of Mines

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Corinne Packard

Colorado School of Mines

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Vladan Stevanovic

Colorado School of Mines

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Paul Constantine

University of Colorado at Boulder

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Andriy Zakutayev

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Cristian Ciobanu

Colorado School of Mines

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Funding Divisions

Division of Materials Research (DMR), Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI)

Piezoelectric materials convert between electrical and mechanical energies and are critical components of many modern amenities, including ultrasound, wireless communication, innumerable sensors, and energy harvesters. Designers of piezoelectric devices today are forced to select either simple materials with moderate performance or complex alloys that have been empirically optimized over decades for unrelated applications. Instead of the historical trial-and-error approach focused primarily on a single class of high strain materials, this project will use emerging high-throughput computation and experimental techniques to enable discovery and design of new high-performance piezoelectric materials relevant across all use scenarios with an initial focus on nitride alloys. By developing and providing an openly-accessible database of both calculated and measured material properties, this project will invert the entire process of piezoelectric materials selection and design. An international industrial advisory board will help to ensure relevance and accelerate deployment of new materials across multiple industries. The project will train members of the next generation workforce in the innovative mindset that with the right tools and approaches, new material development can take months rather than decades.