High-displacement piezoelectric actuator utilizing a meander-line geometry I. Experimental characterization

Abstract

The compact linear-motion piezoelectric actuator developed has relatively large displacement capabilities. It is composed of a number of parallel bars of lead zirconium titanate (PZT) connected together in a meander-line configuration so that they are mechanically in series and electrically in parallel. The polarity of the adjacent bars is arranged so that if a given bar expands under the applied voltage, the adjacent bars contract. An electromechanical model of the actuator predicted and measurements verified that stiffeners added to the basic meander line geometry significantly increased the force output without affecting the displacement versus applied voltage relationship.

Ferroelectric-based microactuators

“…The force capability can be increased substantially without effecting the displacement capabilities by the use of stiffening bars. [11,12] The overall area taken by this meanderline is approximately 300 pm by lo00 pm, assuming 50 pm spacing between bars and 50 pn wide connector elements between adjacent displacement bars.…”

Nano Trajectory Control of Multilayer Low‐voltage PZT Bender Actuator Systems

“…2, indicates that the hysteresis is dependent on the polarity and amplitude of the input signal (e.g., [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]). Subsequently, a swept sine wave with an amplitude of 0.3 volt and a frequency of 1~800 Hz was applied to the MLVPZTBAS.…”

“…Such precise displacements are needed for such purposes as machine tool design [2], biomechatronic fluid-samplehandling in DNA processing [3], optical pick-up design [4], two-degree micropositionser design [5]. There are two types of piezoelectric displacement devices that can provide this capability [6,7]. One type involves displacements about some fixed points and limited total excursion from this fixed point.…”

“…The other type permits virtually unlimited displacement in the desired direction. The fixed point device is exemplified by the so-called "piezoelectric stack," in which a number of thin piezoelectric disks (usually PZT disks a few centimeters in diameter and one or two millimeters thick) are stacked on top of each other, so that mechanically, the disks are in series and electrically, they are connected in parallel [6].…”

Hybrid Magnetic Suspension Actuator for Precision Motion Control

“…Direct piezoelectric actuation (i.e., actuation based on the strain of a piezo stack by the application of voltage or charge) has inherently a very limited range of travel. Although the displacement can be enlarged by mechanical amplification (Robbins, 1991) the range available for direct PZT actuation is at most in the order of a few hundred microns, and the precise control of PZT actuators involves other challenges such as hysteresis and drift. To achieve millimeter-range travel with piezoelectric actuation, ultrasonic motors or inchworm mechanisms have been devised.…”