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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
A micro (∼1 cm3) dynamic heat engine, capable of producing electrical power from lowgrade heat sources, utilizes a micro-machined diaphragm with a piezoelectric element as a The electromechanical coupling of a piezoelectric diaphragm under large initial stresses and/or large deflections – in the membrane limit – is described here. A simple model is derived for electromechanical transduction of a pressurized piezoelectric membrane and an experiment is described to measure it. Electromechanical coupling initially increases as the square of the center-point deflection as the residual stress is overcome. In the limit of large pressures, the electromechanical coupling approaches a limit that is predicted by the model.