Acoustic emission (AE) in multilayer ceramic actuators (MCA) has been
studied. It was observed that AE signals could be concealed by sample'
s mechanical vibrations under usual MCA driving conditions. These vibr
ations were caused by an electrical coupling between the sample's piez
oelectricity and the power supply's feedback. The AE was observed arou
nd the coercive field under bipolar driving. On the contrary, with uni
polar driving, the AE was not present until the applied voltage reache
d a certain critical voltage. It was clarified that the AE generation
in MCAs was strongly dependent on the maximum pre-applied stress (Kais
er effect), which corresponds to the applied voltage. The onset voltag
e of AE can be used to estimate the existing damages in the MCA. Durin
g the poling process, larger numbers of AE was observed in damaged MCA
than that of un-damaged ones.