Piezoelectric transformers

In recent years, the field of use of piezoelectric materials, historically reserved for electroacoustic devices, mechanical sensors and then precision actuators, has continued to expand, notably with new applications identified in "power electronics" thanks to the use of piezoelectric transformers. The aim of this article is to present the potential offered by this new type of component in terms of the realization of specific power supplies requiring, for example, very high compactness, and/or high voltage levels, and/or high primary-secondary galvanic isolation. After a brief review of the physical principles involved, the authors present 1 the usual structures of piezoelectric transformers. Their mode of operation is then studied in detail (§ 2 and 3 ). Finally, the static conversion structures and associated control regimes are presented and analyzed 4 .