Piezoelectrets with well-defined cavities produced from 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene structures

A novel piezoelectret with well-defined cavities produced by three-dimensional printing technology is reported. This prototyping tool allows many samples to be prepared in a single printing step and provides the possibility to design voided structures with control of the cavity geometric parameters such as height, diameter and shape. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene piezoelectrets were fabricated by this method and measurements regarding their electrical response against time, temperature and pressure are presented. The samples show an average piezoelectric coefficient d₃₃ of around 100 pC/N and 70% of this piezoelectricity remains after they were exposed to temperatures up to 85°C.