IWPMA (International Workshop on Piezoelectric Materials and Applications in Actuators) 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Since their discovery, piezoelectric materials have found numerous applications over the years, ranging from sonar to, at present, integrated devices. Thanks to their unique bidirectional energy conversion potentials, such materials have been the subject of many scientific and industrial studies, and many material devices have emerged through research progress.

Hence, the objective of IWPMA 2020 (the 17th edition of IWPMA after the last editions in Lyon, France in 2019 and Kobe, Japan in 2018) is to gather researchers in a unique and successful international workshop to share their latest discoveries in terms of piezoelectric materials and their application in actuators, and more generally, energy conversion devices, thus pioneering and shaping the future of piezoelectric materials and devices.

The conference scope therefore focuses on piezoelectric materials (ceramics, single crystals, polymers, lead-free materials, elaboration, characterization, etc.), as well as their application in actuators (ultrasonic tools, acoustic devices, motors, transformers, etc.) and in sensing and energy harvesting systems (imaging, MEMS, etc.). In this framework, this Special Issue aims at gathering selected papers from presentations performed during the conference. The conference topics cover but are not limited to the following items:

Piezoelectric material and structures

• Synthesis and elaboration: ceramics; 
• Polymers, single crystals, lead-free materials;
• Multiferroic materials and systems;
• Piezoelectric metamaterials and metastructures;
• Manufacturing processes;

Modeling and Characterization

• Multiphysics modeling involving piezoelectric/flexoelectric effects;
• Piezoelectric material and device modeling;
• Numerical methods;
• Experimental methods.

Devices and Systems

• MEMS devices (actuators and sensors);
• Solid state actuators;
• Composite sensors/actuators;
• Ultrasonic and acoustic devices; 
• Piezoelectric transformers;
• Piezo-based structural health monitoring;
• Energy harvesting structures;
• Drive circuits for piezoelectric devices;
• Electrical interfaces for energy harvesting.

Prof. Dr. Jörg Wallaschek
Dr. Jens Twiefel
Dr. Yongke Yan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Piezoelectric Materials
• Synthesis and Elaboration
• Manufacturing
• Characterization and Modeling
• Transducers
• Ultrasonic Tool
• Ultrasonic Motor
• Sensor
• Energy Harvesting
• MEMS