Piezoelectric actuator based on stiffness control and stroke amplification for large lateral actuation

We present a piezoelectric actuator using stiffness control and stroke amplification mechanism in order to make large lateral displacement. In this work, we suggest stiffness control approach that generates lateral displacement by increasing the vertical stiffness and reducing the lateral stiffness using additional structure. In addition, an additional structure of a serpentine spring amplifies the lateral displacement like leverage structure. The suggested lateral PZT actuator (bellows actuator) consists of serpentine spring and PZT/electrode layer which is located at the edge of the serpentine spring. The edge of the serpentine spring prevents the vertical motion of PZT layer, while the other edge of the serpentine spring makes stroke amplification like leverage structure. The bellows actuator shows the maximum 3.93/spl plusmn/0.2/spl mu/m lateral displacement at 16V with 1Hz sinusoidal voltage input. In the frequency response test, the fabricated bellows actuator showed consistent displacement from 1 Hz to 1 kHz at 10V.