Patent ID: 8240582

Claim:
A stacked piezoelectric device including a ceramic laminate formed by laminating a plurality of piezoelectric ceramic layers and a plurality of inner electrode layers alternately and a pair of side electrodes formed on side surfaces extending in a direction perpendicular to a laminating direction of the ceramic laminate, characterized in that said inner electrode layers have a conductive inner electrode-formed area and an inner electrode-unformed area where an outer peripheral edge of said inner electrode-formed area is recessed inwardly from an outer peripheral surface of said ceramic laminate by a given recessed distance and are each connected electrically to one of said side electrodes alternately at the inner electrode-formed areas, said ceramic laminate has slit-like stress absorbing portions recessed inwardly from the side surfaces thereof to have given depths, and said recessed distances of said inner electrode-unformed areas of two of the inner electrode layers which interleave the stress absorbing portion therebetween and lie next thereto are respectively greater than the depths of the stress absorbing portions which are located on the same side surfaces as said inner electrode-unformed areas and lie next to said inner electrode-unformed areas in the laminating direction in a cross section of the stacked piezoelectric device, as taken in the laminating direction.