A large strain piezoelectric microactuator by folding assembly

Abstract

In-plane amplification of thin film piezoelectric strain has been previously demonstrated using mechanical flexures fabricated at the micro scale. This new work presents a method by which that amplification can be increased, along with a method to reduce parasitic out of plane bending present in prior designs. Fabricated actuator triplets demonstrated peak unblocked displacement of 15 [mu]m, 3% total contraction by length, with an estimated blocking force of [approx.] -9.2 [mu]N. Methods of arraying one such cell massively in series and in parallel are also presented, with the long term goal of creating a large strain, efficient, and low power macro scale actuator from individual micro scale components.