Piezoelectric micro-jet devices: A review

Piezoelectric micro-jet devices (PMJDs), also known as piezoelectric inkjet printing, are used to distribute the functional materials to form single or complex microstructures on a substrate. As one of the most promising technologies in the field of additive manufacturing in the 21st century, the PMJDs have received a lot of attentions from universities, enterprises and research institutes. In this review, the origin of the PMJDs is introduced and the data analyses of the PMJDs are also counted based on Web of Science database. Concretely, the fundamental actuation modes and structure configurations of the PMJDs are summarized firstly. Secondly, the analysis methods of the PMJDs are discussed. Thirdly, the challenges of the PMJDs are explicitly discussed. Fourthly, aiming at the current challenges, the schemes on improving the droplet uniformity and productivity of the PMJDs are discussed in detail. However, there are still many studies to be completed and optimized to solve the bottlenecks faced by the PMJDs. Finally, the applications of the PMJDs are described systematically. In general, this review is expected to be of interest to both seasoned researchers and practitioners in the PMJDs and those entering this field for the first time.