Abstract
New applications are emerging for piezoelectric operated actuators and motors
in applications including aircraft, automobile hydraulics and drug delivery.
Among piezoelectric devices, piezoelectric actuators produce a small
displacement with a high force capability when voltage is applied. They are
used mainly in ultra-precise positioning and in the generation and handling of
high forces or pressures, whereas piezoelectric motors use a piezoelectric
ceramic element to produce ultrasonic vibrations in a stator structure. The
elliptical movements of the stator are converted into the movement of a slider
that is pressed into frictional contact with the stator. Depending on the
stator' s design, the resulting movement can be either rotational or linear.
The virtually unlimited resolution and extremely fast response of piezo
devices have made them a corner stone of ultraprecision applications from
nanometrology to nanomanipulation. Today a large variety of piezo-based
positioning systems is available, from simple open-loop actuators, to complex
fl exure-guided nanopositioning systems and piezo linear motors. All
piezoelectric drives are ceramic-based, and can operate in a vacuum; they do
not produce magnetic fi elds nor are they infl uenced by them.
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