Patent ID: 7312558

Claim:
A piezoelectric element comprising: a first electrode layer; an orientation control layer provided on the first electrode layer; a piezoelectric layer provided on the orientation control layer; and a second electrode layer provided on the piezoelectric layer, wherein the orientation control layer is made of a cubic or tetragonal perovskite oxide; the piezoelectric layer has a rhombohedral or tetragonal crystalline structure and is made of lead zirconate titanate to which a Pb-containing complex perovskite compound whose chemical formula is expressed as Pb(A a B b )O 3 has been added in an amount that is from 1 mol % to 50 mol %; and crystal grains of the piezoelectric layer are columnar grains which extend thickness-wise in the piezoelectric layer and in which the ratio of the average cross-sectional diameter of the grains to the grain length is from 1/50 to 1/14.