Applications and Metrology at Nanometer Scale 1

4 Smart Materials

Research work in engineering science on applications of a material for its uses in society focuses on its physical and chemical properties that may be of interest. During the Iron Age, the strength of iron based on its mechanical properties, compared to bronze alloys, was a key criterion in the choice of material for the fabrication of weapons and tools. Later on, the scientific methods developed to process materials in laboratories, particularly in materials science, led to the discovery of semiconductors which paved the way to the electronics industry, and hence, the development of electrical systems based on electronics and computer science. Today, the focus of designers is not only in active materials, but also on their uses in microsystems that make them smart, from which the term smart materials is coined. The main characteristic of these materials is the typical coupling of their various physical properties, which recommends their use as active materials. Piezoelectric materials are best known for their uses. The direct effect was discovered by the Curie brothers in 1880, on the Tourmaline crystal, while the converse effect was theoretically predicted by Lippman based on thermodynamic considerations in 1881, and discovered the same year by the Curie brothers.

4.1. Introduction

Materials are the core of any mechanical, electrical, electronic, optical, magnetic, chemical or thermal components and systems. Materials have always been behind the development ...