Patent ID: 8210658

Claim:
A piezoelectric material comprising a perovskite oxide (P) (which may contain inevitable impurities) represented by the formula below: Pb a (Zr x , Ti y , M b−x−y ) b O c (P) (wherein M represents one or two or more metal elements; wherein 0<x<b, 0<y<b, 0≦b−x−y; and wherein a molar ratio a:b:c is 1:1:3 as a standard; however, the molar ratio may be varied from the standard molar ratio within a range where a perovskite structure is obtained), the piezoelectric material having a signal intensity ratio I(Pb 4+ )/I(Pb 2+ ) between Pb 4+ and Pb 2+ of not less than 0.60 measured through XAFS (X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy).