Click here for new Piezoelectric Actuator Selection Guide
PL112 – PL140 PICMA® Multilayer Piezoelectric Bender Actuators (LVPZT)
PICMA®-series multilayer bender Piezoelectric actuators provide a deflection of up to 2 mm, forces up to 2 N (200 grams) and response times in the millisecond range. These multilayer piezoelectric components are manufactured from ceramic layers of only about 50 µm thickness. They feature internal silver-palladium electrodes and ceramic insulation applied in a cofiring process. The benders have two outer active areas and one central electrode network dividing the actuator in two segments of equal capacitance, similar to a classical parallel bimorph.
Advantages
Long Lifetime and High Performance—Ideal for Dynamic Operation
The high Curie temperature of 320 °C gives PICMA® actuators a usable temperature range extending up to 150 °C, well above the 80 °C limit of conventional multilayer actuators. At the low end, operation down to a few Kelvin is possible (with reduction in performance specifications).
Application Examples: More Information: PL112 – PL140
PICMA® Bender Piezoelectric actuators offer several advantages over classic bimorph components manufactured by gluing together two ceramic plates (0.1 to 1 mm thick): faster response time and higher stiffness. The main advantage, however, is the drastically reduced (by a factor of 3 to 10) operating voltage of only 60 V. The reduced voltage allows smaller drive electronics and new applications, such as in medical equipment. Additionally, these devices offer improved humidity resistance due to the ceramic encapsulation.
PICMA® Bender actuators are superior to conventional actuators in high-endurance situations. They show substantially longer lifetimes both in static and dynamic operation, even in harsh environments. Diffusion of water molecules into the insulation layer is greatly reduced by the use of cofired, outer ceramic encapsulation.
Wire bonding, Pneumatic valves, Fiber optic switches, Beam deflection, Micropositioning, Acceleration sensors,
, etc.