LiNbO/sub 3/ piezoelectric transformer for power transmission

Radio frequency (10–23 MHz)-assisted excitation of a microdischarge with a piezoelectric transformer

“…Transformers employing ceramic piezoelectric materials were first described by Rosen et al in 1958 [8]. Subsequently, LiNbO 3 -based piezoelectric transformers were demonstrated [9][10][11][12][13] and, despite the introduction of complex geometries to better utilize the properties of the crystal, these devices typically operated at or below frequencies of a few megahertz. Recently, Zimnicki and Mattson [14] reported a novel LiNbO 3 resonant transformer design, employing 1-2 mm thick crystals in a simple parallelplate contact geometry and operating at ∼1 MHz.…”

“…The structure, and electrical and optical characteristics of these devices under dc excitation have been described previously [15]. Originally developed as a capacitor for wireless applications, the multilayer, interleaved electrode structure of these ceramic microdischarge devices conveniently provides the capacitive load for the LiNbO 3 transformer and, therefore, the discrete capacitor specified in [9] is not required.…”