Electrostrictive properties of monolithic bimorphous actuator

Abstract

Abstract Monolithic bimorphous actuators with internal electrodes composed of two, three and four layers were prepared using the high d 31 material of a modified Pb(Ti,Zr)O3. The new actuators utilizing an unstiffened mode were provided as a large-displacement transducer under low DC bias. The device having four layers can generate a displacement up to 0.6 mm under a voltage of 30 V with 4 msec response. The dependence of d 31 on DC bias and force was estimated for three type actuators. The force induced by DC bias was in proportion to the bias. Introducing the intermediate layer or the internal Pd electrodes, smaller hysteresis of the displacement was obtained. The bimorphous actuators composed of three and four layers are operated under lower applied voltage compared with the one of two layers.