Electromechanical Behavior of Piezoelectric Thin Film Membranes: Ryan Need
Major:Materials Science
Engineering
University: Clemson
University
Year: Junior
REU
Program: Materials Science
Engineering
Advisor: Professor Dave Bahr
The next time you put on headphones to cancel out the sounds of crying babies during your three-hour flight, you should thank the scientists who created those noise-cancelling speakers. Junior Ryan Need, a student at Clemson University, should be included on your thank-you list.
This summer, he is studying the electromechanical behavior of bulged and curved piezoelectric thin film membranes under the tutelage of Dave Bahr, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. These film membranes, which are 1/10th the thickness of a human hair, are more efficient when pressurized which allows them to reproduce sounds as a speaker over the entire audible range.
Currently, Need uses piezoelectric films that have been manufactured at WSU and tests them using a custom built system for measuring the output from the membranes. The results from his research are then compared to commercial headphones and cell phone speakers and microphones, both in terms of efficiency and performance.
Ryan Need measuring the output from film membranes.
Last fall, he participated in an undergraduate research program at Clemson University but did not enjoy his experience. “We had to work in groups,” he explains. “The group was not very efficient and lacked motivation.”
One of Need’s Material Science professors, who is a former WSU student and her husband was a WSU post-doc, recommended that he take a look at WSU’s REU program for the summer. “Here I feel like I have been able to accomplish more,” Need says. “I’ve learned a lot about professional research in my field and what standards must be met.”
“Ryan has been very productive this summer,” states Bahr. “He is clearly adding significant value to both the testing development and the interpretation of the results. He's already carried out tests that verified information published in an earlier paper as well as new tests that are linking the model developed to the residual stresses in the films due to processing.”
“I have enjoyed the inquisitive aspect of undergraduate research,” Need comments. “I have found that research is never the same routine, which I am quite grateful for.”
The hardest part so far for him, though, is trying to understand the theory behind his work. “Probably once I have a greater understanding of materials and what makes them function in a specific way it will make interpreting my results much easier.”
He hopes to participate in another REU program, whether it be at WSU again or elsewhere. After graduation, Need plans to join the Peace Corps and then attend graduate school.
Junior Ryan Need from Clemson University
APPLICIBILITY
If Need’s research is successful, the piezoelectric films can be used for next-generation noise-cancelling headphones, for example.