[1] Interest in piezoMEMS technology began around the early 1990s as scientists explored alternatives to electrostatic actuation in radio frequency (RF) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
[6] The first reported piezoelectrically actuated RF MEMS switch was developed by scientists at the LG Electronics Institute of Technology in Seoul, South Korea in 2005.
[8][9] This experiment was part of a decades-long research investment effort at ARL to improve the use of PZT thin film technology for piezoMEMS.
[13] In their work, researchers from ARL have also increased the overall electromechanical response of PZT thin films by 15-30% by incorporating iridium oxide electrode materials.
Deposition techniques to create thin films with properties approaching those of bulk materials remain in development and in need of improvement.