Characterization of a Piezoelectric Buzzer Using a Michelson Interferometer

A piezoelectric material generates an electric potential across its surface when subjected to mechanical stress;¹ conversely, the inverse piezoelectric effect describes the expansion or contraction of the material when subjected to some applied voltage. Piezoelectric materials are used in devices such as doorbell buzzers, barbeque igniters, and also as the scanning and approach mechanisms in scanning probing microscopy. The assembly of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM)² at Thompson Rivers University has motivated a characterization of the sensitivity and hysteresis³ of piezoelectric discs using a Michelson interferometer. The investigation uses an interferometer⁴ and a simple photodiode circuit to track the fringes. As a possible undergraduate lab, the measurement provides an introduction to piezoelectric materials (including hysteresis), the Michelson interferometer, and data acquisition techniques.