Piezoelectric driven resonant beam array in langasite (La3Ga5SiO14)

A piezoelectrically actuated array of cantilever beams in lanthanum gallium silicate (langasite, La3Ga5SiO14) was designed and fabricated. Langasite is a new piezoelectric material with promising properties for micro-electromechanical applications at high temperatures. Shear strain actuation of the cantilevers was confirmed by vibrometer measurements. Impedance measurements have shown that the array is working at temperatures above 700 °C. Further, ultrasonic milling of langasite was investigated and a multi-step wet chemical etching process has been developed and was used to structure the langasite. During etching an anisotropic etching behavior has been observed. FEM simulations have been done to design the array as a component of a gravimetric sensor.