Electrostatic Optical Motor Using PLZT Elements(Effect of PLZT Element Size on Electrostatic Optical Motor)

Abstract

A PLZT element has a characteristic that mechanical strain is occurred by photostrictive effect when exposed to ultraviolet light. The photostrictive effect is a result of photovoltaic effect and piezoelectric effect. Up to now optical actuators that make use of the photostrictive effect have been studied. However, its displacement is not so large. Therefore, an electrostatic optical motor driven by optical energy was proposed in this study. It is a new type of actuator that makes use of the photovoltaic effect and electrostatic force. In this paper, continuous drive of the electrostatic optical motor is verified experimentally, and the experimental result is discussed. The electrostatic optical motor has some superior characteristics such as non-contact energy supply, large rotational motion and the like, but it has some weaknesses such as slow rotation speed and weak generated force. Therefore, the effect of PLZT element size on the performance of the electrostatic optical motor is discussed to improve the performance.