Fabrication and Characterization of the Piezoelectric Microcantilever Integrated with PZT Thin-Film Microforce Sensor and Actuator

The paper presents a technology platform for micromanipulation systems based on the piezoelectric cantilevers integrated with PZT thin-film micro force sensors and actuators. Two novel piezoelectric microcantilevers with two-segment and bimorph sol-gel PZT films were designed, fabricated by bulk micromachining and tested. The sensing and actuation capability of two-segment PZT microcantilevers as microforce sensors or actuators was characterized. The sensing performance of bimorph PZT microcantilevers was compared with the conventional unimorph microcantilever. The piezoelectric constant d
₃₁
of PZT films were measured without poling process.