Patent ID: 7594309

Claim:
A method of producing a laminate-type piezoelectric element having a ceramic laminated body obtained by alternately laminating piezoelectric layers made of a piezoelectric material and inner electrode layers having electrically conducting property, and having outer electrodes arranged on the side surfaces of said ceramic laminated body, wherein said ceramic laminated body is formed through: an intermediate laminated body-forming step of forming an intermediate laminated body by alternately laminating green sheets that serve as the piezoelectric layers and the inner electrode layers; and a calcining step of forming said ceramic laminated body by calcining said intermediate laminated body; and wherein, in said intermediate laminated body-forming step, there are formed an overlapped portion which is a region where the inner electrode layers are all overlapped one upon the other, and a non-overlapped portion which is a region where only some of the inner electrode layers are overlapped, or none of the inner electrode layers are overlapped at all when said intermediate laminated body is viewed in the direction of lamination, and voids are formed in advance in at least part of the non-overlapped portion, and in said calcining step, relaxing layers including said voids are formed.