Patent ID: 8324784

Claim:
A method for tuning a resonant frequency of a piezoelectric component having a transducer extending in three spatial dimensions, having a resonant frequency dependent on an extension in at least one of the three spatial dimensions and/or on a material dependent elasticity modulus, the transducer having a layered structure with at least four electrodes arranged alternating above one another, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are connected to first and second surfaces attached to two ends of the component, wherein the third electrode is connected to a third surface, and wherein the fourth electrode is connected to a fourth surface, the third and fourth surfaces being disposed along a longitudinal direction of the component, the method comprising: applying a DC voltage to two of the four surfaces, so that a change is generated in the resonant frequency due to a change in the extension in the at least one of the spatial directions and in the elasticity modulus; and applying a control voltage, to generate a vibration, at the other two of the four surfaces having an excitation frequency that corresponds substantially to the changed resonant frequency.