Development of a novel high precision piezoelectric linear stepper actuator

A novel linear stepper piezoelectric actuator is reported in this paper. We designed the configuration of the actuator and fabricated its prototype. A testing system was set up to examine its dynamic characteristic. It has been found that the actuator moves in stepping mode under lower pulse frequency and achieves the highest velocity and the longest range when the duration of high level is 1 ms. The new actuator has a displacement resolution of 0.1 μm and a maximum velocity of 0.6 mm/s. Its load may be 200 g and its range may be several centimeters. Besides, it also has a simple configuration and is easy to be controlled. A high precision positioning system can be achieved with it.