Mechanically amplified large displacement piezoelectric actuators

This paper deals with large displacement actuators based on mechanically amplified movements of pre-stressed piezoelectric disks. The bridge-type amplifier structures were made of laser cut polymer laminates fold to certain geometries to accomplish enhanced displacement of the input translation. Optimization of the lever lengths and their positions were carried out using computer-assisted design (by AutoCAD) and mathematical calculations (by MATLAB). The output displacements of two different mechanically amplified actuators were measured by optical microscopy. Linear amplifications were accomplished with gains of ∼16 and ∼−25 (inverting structure). The achieved amplified maximum displacements were 1.20 mm and 1.16 mm.