In order to accurately predict the performance of micro-electromechanical systems which use piezoelectric material, precise knowledge
of the piezoelectric coefficients is critical. Current material characterization methods rely on either simple structures restricted to small
amplitude, linear oscillations or consider the piezoelectric material separate from the specific micro-scale device. A method is proposed for the
characterization of the effective transverse piezoelectric coefficient d31 of lead zirconate titanate in a clamped-clamped micro-beam resonator
experiencing nonlinear oscillations. Parameter trends identified by using a parametric identification scheme are analyzed and an approach
is presented to calculate the linear piezoelectric coefficient. This method utilizes the relationship between a DC bias added to the excitation
signal and the frequency shift experienced by the nonlinear response behavior. Through an additional numerical study, the sensitivity of the
results to changes in the device length is identified and all data sets provide the same coefficient value when a length variation of less than
2% is allowed
