title: Amplifying transmission and compact suspension for a low-profile, large-displacement piezoelectric actuator.
abstract: A low-profile, piezoelectrically-driven microactuator is presented that achieves very large stroke lengths within size constraints suitable for certain endoscopic microscopy applications. The actuator utilizes a transmission consisting of lever arm and chevron-beam structures to amplify high-force, low-displacement motion of a ceramic lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) brick into large displacement of a translational platform. For ±120 V input, a full range of 486 μm of motion is achieved, with natural frequency greater than 500 Hz. This corresponds to an anticipated In addition, the lateral translational platform is supported by a redesign of common folded silicon flexures to provide large transverse and vertical stiffness when the width of the actuator is limited.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg - IMTEK, Georges-Koehler-Allee 102, 79110 Freiburg, Germany, visiting scholar at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Domke
authors.forename: C-H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Oldham