Large Stroke Vertical PZT Microactuator With High-Speed Rotational Scanning

A thin-film piezoelectric microactuator using a novel combination of active vertical translational scanning and passive resonant rotational scanning is presented. Thin-film lead-zirconate-titanate unimorph bending beams surrounding a central platform provide nearly 200-μm displacement at 18 V with bandwidth greater than 200 Hz. Inside the platform, a mirror mount, or mirror surface, supported by silicon dioxide spring beams can be excited to resonance by low-voltage; high-frequency excitation of the outer PZT beams. Over ±5.5° mechanical resonance is obtained at 3.8 kHz and ±2 V. The combination of large translational vertical displacements and high-speed rotational scanning is intended to support real-time cross-sectional imaging in a dual axes confocal endomicroscope.