Fundamentals of Piezoelectric Actuators
Introduction
PDF: More Information on the Piezoelectric Effect and Piezo Actuator Fundamentals
PI Ceramic piezoelectric actuators offer today´s motion engineer and scientist a practical way to achieve extremely high positioning accuracy, shortest possible response times, best dynamic operation and largest forces in a wide variety of applications. Presently piezoelectric actuator based motion systems increasingly replace classical motion technologies — improving products in terms of miniaturization, precision and throughput. In addition, the unique features of piezoelectric actuators will trigger the development of motion equipment that could not even exist without this technology.
PI Ceramic, a member of the PI Group, offers the largest selection worldwide of researchand industrial-reliability piezoelectric actuators. In addition to the standard Piezoelectric products presented in this short catalog, we focus on custom designs tailored to our customer´s requirements.
The highly vertically integrated structure of the PI Group allows control of each manufacturing step, beginning at the raw material up to finished NanoPositioning systems, including electronic drivers, amplifiers and controllers. This comprehensive development and manifacturing know-how of electromechanical components and systems is unique in the world.
Since the piezoelectric effect exhibited by natural monocrystalline materials such as quartz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt, etc. is very small, polycrystalline piezoelectric ceramic materials, such as lead (plumbum) zirconate titanate (PZT), with improved properties have been developed. PZT ceramics are available in many variations and are by far the most widely used materials for piezoelectric actuator applications today.
Applications for Piezoelectric Actuators
- Optics and Photonics
- Precision Mechanics
- Life Sciences, Medicine, Biology
- Vibration Cancellation
- Adaptronics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Measuring Technologies
- Microelectronics
- Disk Drive
PZT unit cell: 1) Perovskite-type lead zirconate titanate (PZT) unit cell in the symmetric cubic state above the Curie temperature
2) Tetragonally distorted unit cell below the Curie temperature
The poling process in ferroelectric ceramics. Electric dipoles: (1) unpoled ferroelectric ceramic, (2) during and (3) after poling (piezoelectric ceramic)
