New high performance-low cost monolithic bimorph piezoelectric actuators for applications requiring large displacements with significant forces

We report on a new type of low cost/high performance diskbender actuator produced by combining efficient design and fabrication methods. First prototypes, weighing less than 15 g, show displacements up to 275 /spl mu/m and blocking forces of more than 30 N with less than /spl plusmn/200 V driving voltage. The properties of these actuators are intermediate between those of standard bimorphs, used for very large displacements but providing rather small forces, and those of low voltage stack multilayers, which provide quite large forces but are generally heavier, larger and very expensive for equivalent displacements. The absence of any external mechanical amplification mechanism makes these actuators particularly efficient and ideal for active vibration damping applications within buildings or for noise control by emission of controlled sound in antiphase. With the help of finite element calculations (ATILA, ISEN, France), the new actuators are compared with the standard diskbenders and mounting issues are addressed as well.