Measurement on the actuating and sensing capability of a PZT microcantilever

Abstract

PZT thin film devices are very competitive when charge signal and force outputs are demanded. A Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 thin film with 24 coating layers is deposited by a sol–gel method. An array of three piezoelectric microcantilevers is fabricated using the wet and dry combined bulk micromachining techniques. Each microcantilever has a two-segment top electrode in different dimensions. The actuating and sensing capability of the six segments on the three microcantilevers are measured. It is proved that the proposed piezoelectric microcantilevers have both actuating and sensing functions; different proportion partition results in the diversity of the actuating and sensing capability. At the same location, the longer the piezoelectric segment is, the stronger actuating and sensing capability it has. The maximum actuating sensitivity and sensing sensitivity before poling treatment are 16.7 µN V−1 and 13.44 pC µm−1, respectively, which become about twice as big after poling. We may choose the appropriate microcantilevers to satisfy our purpose on some specific condition where force feedback and object manipulation are needed simultaneously. A hysteresis phenomenon is encountered in the actuating process while not in the sensing process.

Mechanical and electronic approaches to improve the sensitivity of microcantilever sensors

“…The piezoelectric cantilevers consumes power as less as 25% as that of the optical and the piezoresistive sensing element and has sensitivity on par with optical and piezoresistive method [18] making them the most reliable and cost-effective sensors. Piezoelectricity is the property of a material in which a potential is developed across a material when it is subjected to strain; also referred to as direct piezoelectric effect and conversely it undergoes physical strain when a potential is applied to it; commonly referred as indirect piezoelectric effect [16].…”

“…Weijie Dong et al developed a new PZT piezoelectric MCL device which has two separated electrodes on the top which could be used both for sensing as well as actuation [18]. They showed the influence of the electrode’s length over the sensitivity.…”

“…As shown in Figure 29, the left segment showed higher sensitivity compared to the right segment since it is longer than the right. They suggested that the length of the left segment should be two times of the right segment for smaller actuation force and higher sensitivity [18]. …”

In-situ Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of the Effect of Cooling Speed on Domain Formation in PbTiO3 Films

“…Ferroelectric materials are widely used in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) such as sensors and actuators [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. It is generally accepted that the ferroelectric properties are closely related to the domain structure of a ferroelectric material (e.g., PbTiO 3 (PTO), BaTiO 3 (BTO), etc.)…”

Stability Analysis of Piezoelectric Actuator based Micro Gripper for Robotic Micro Assembly

“…Pérez et al [12] have focused on modelling of two degree of freedom (DOF) based bimorph piezo actuator which can be applicable in micromanipulation whereas Yeh et al [13] have discussed a mathematical model and the associated identification procedure to characterize the hysteresis behavior of the piezoelectric actuators. Dong et al [14] have focused on actuating and sensing capability before and after polarization of PZT micro cantilever. Tamadazte et al [15] have attempted on a full automatic piezo actuator based micromanipulation and micro assembly using a visual feedback method whereas Grossard et al [16] have focused on modelling and robust control strategy for a control-optimized piezoelectric micro gripper.…”