Background

The Piezoelectric effect is the property of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to mechanical stress.

For piezoelectric accelerometers, a mass applies a force to a piezoelectric material (crystal or ceramic) and the subsequent stress caused on the material outputs a charge which is proportional to the force. The force is affected by the mass size as well as the acceleration level. We can use this principle to output a voltage proportional to the amount of acceleration the transducer is experiencing within the specified range.