A new S-shaped MEMS PZT cantilever for energy harvesting from low frequency vibrations below 30 Hz

In this paper, a new S-shaped piezoelectric PZT cantilever is microfabricated for scavenging vibration energy at low frequencies (<30 Hz) and low accelerations (<0.4g). The maximum voltage and normalized power are 42 mV and 0.31 μW g ⁻², respectively, at input acceleration of 0.06g. For acceleration above 0.06g, the vibration of PZT cantilever changes from a linear oscillation to a nonlinear impact oscillation due to the displacement constraint introduced by a mechanical stopper. Based on theoretical modeling and experimental results, the frequency broadening effect of the PZT cantilever is studied with varying stop distances and input accelerations. The operation bandwidth of the piezoelectric PZT cantilever is able to extend from 3.4 to 11.1 Hz as the stop distance reduces from 1.7 to 0.7 mm for an acceleration of 0.3g, at the expense of the voltage and normalized power at resonance decreasing from 40 to 16 mV and from 17.8 to 2.8 nW g⁻², respectively.     

Passive piezoelectric single-side MEMS DC current sensor with five parallel PZT plates applicable to two-wire DC electric appliances without using cord separator

A passive (power-less), non-contact macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor to satisfy the increasing needs of DC power supply for monitoring the electricity consumption by either one-wire or two-wire appliance cord was proposed at our laboratory previously. In present study however, a MEMS-scale piezoelectric single-side DC current sensor, comprised of five parallel PZT plates, was further proposed and micro-fabricated for preliminarily examination. A micro magnet was fixed by manipulator onto the PZT cantilever tip to the theoretically pinpointed position of the center plate. Different from the results of the macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor, impulsive piezoelectric output voltages accompanying with a gradual decrease in decay were detected when the applied DC electric current was varied from 0.5 to 2.5 A. A linear relationship between the detected peak value of the impulse output voltage and the applied DC electric current was also obtained but with a higher slope compared to the result of the macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor.     

Electro-mechanical behavior and direct piezoelectricity of cellulose electro-active paper

This study focuses on investigating the piezoelectric effects of cellulose-based electro-active paper (EAPap) using quasi-static direct piezoelectricity. Mechanical properties were investigated first and then electro-mechanical behavior was studied by applying electric field during the pulling test. In-plane piezoelectric charge constant (d₃₁) of EAPap was quantified by the quasi-static relation between induced charge and applied stress. Strong shear electro-mechanical coupling was observed and 45° sample provided the largest in-plane piezoelectric charge constant. The measured piezoelectric charge constant was in the range of 8–28.2 pC/N, which are similar to those of piezo polymer. Cellulose EAPap provides promising potential as biodegradable and cheap piezoelectric polymer material.     

Design and fabrication of PZT microcantilevers with freestanding structure

For developing freestanding piezoelectric microcantilevers with low resonant frequency, some critical mechanical considerations, especially cantilever bending, were given in this study. Two strategies, using piezoelectric thick films and adding a stress compensation layer, were calculationally analyzed for mitigating the cantilever bending, and then was applied for the fabrication of PZT freestanding microcantilevers. (100) oriented PZT thick films with the thickness of 6.93 μm were grown on the Pt/SiO₂/Si substrate by chemical solution deposition (CSD), and the SiO₂ layer with the thickness of 1.0 μm was kept under the PZT layer as a stress compensation layer of the freestanding microcantilevers. The freestanding microcantilevers fabricated with the micromachining process possessed the resonant frequency of 466.1 Hz, and demonstrated no obvious cantilever bending.     

Computation of hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficients for 1–3 composites by the finite-element method

The hydrostatic piezoelectric charge coefficients (d_h) and hydrostatic piezoelectric voltage coefficients (g_h) of 1–3 PZT/polymer composites have been calculated by two equations containing the stress tensors of each element. A composite model is divided into 162 elements, and the stress distributions are computed under 0.7 MPa hydrostatic pressure using the finite-element method. The higher d_h value is found for the composite with 30.9% PZT and the higher g_h value for the composite with 19.8% PZT.     

Design and simulation of an ultrasonic linear motor with dual piezoelectric actuators

In this study, an ultrasonic linear motor with dual piezoelectric (PZT) actuators is developed. A traveling wave motion is generated on the stator by a double-sided excitation of the stator of the ultrasonic linear motor, which drives the slider that is connected to the stator. The development and design processes are described. In this paper, the principle of using an ultrasonic motor to drive a traveling wave type is presented. The structure for the ultrasonic linear motor is then demonstrated with its dimensions, driving conditions and material parameters, so that Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) can be used to simulate the driving performance. The simulation results show the differences to the characteristics that are achieved by adjusting the critical parameters, such as the PZT boned positions, the excitation frequency and the preload, in order to derive the best design. A prototype that uses the best parameter design is presented, and a method to improve development processes is presented in the final section.

     

Magnetoelectric transducer with high quality factor for wireless power receiving

To achieve strong power coupling, a resonance-type magnetoelectric (ME) transducer with high quality factor is developed to achieve strong ME coupling. The ME transducer employs a type of iron–nickel-based ferromagnetic alloy with constant elasticity and piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT8) material. The dynamic magnetomechanical behavior of the ferromagnetic alloy is investigated. The result indicates that the strain coefficient of the ferromagnetic alloy at resonance achieves 557.07 nm/A due to the high effective mechanical quality factor of the alloy. The transducer is designed to operate as a half-wavelength, longitudinal resonator. The dynamic performance of the transducer is evaluated by measuring its electrical and vibrational characteristics. The results reveal that (1) the resonance of the transducer occurs at the frequency of 26.9336 kHz with a strain coefficient of 314.74 nm/A, an effective mechanical quality factor of 1600; (2) the ME voltage coefficient achieves 30.07 V/Oe (i.e., 375.875 V/cm Oe) at resonance; (3) the ME output power density at optimal load resistance of 25 kΩ achieves 0.956 mW/cm³ under 0.3 Oe root-mean-square AC magnetic field. The performances indicate that the transducer is promising for ME energy conversion application.     

Effect of electrode size and silicon residue on piezoelectric thin-film membrane actuators

Piezoelectric micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) often adopt a membrane structure to facilitate sensing or actuation. Design parameters, such as membrane size, thickness of the piezoelectric thin film, and electrode types, have been studied to maximize actuation, sensitivity, or coupling coefficient. This paper is to demonstrate numerically and experimentally that the size of silicon residue and its relative size to the top electrode are two critical yet unrecognized parameters in maximizing the actuation displacement of PZT thin-film membrane actuators. To study effects of the silicon residue, we have developed a finite element model using ANSYS. The model consists of five components: a square passive silicon membrane, a silicon substrate, a PZT thin film, a square top electrode, and a silicon residue region. In particular, the silicon residue has a circular inner diameter and a square outer perimeter with a trapezoidal cross section. Predictions of the finite element model lead to several major results. First, when the silicon residue is present, there exists an optimal size of the top electrode maximizing the actuator displacement. Second, the optimal electrode size is roughly 50–60% of the inner diameters of the silicon residue. The displacement of the membrane actuator declines significantly as the electrode overlaps with the silicon residue. Third, the maximal actuator displacement decreases as the inner diameter of the silicon residue decreases. Aside from the finite element analysis, a mechanics-of-material model is also developed to predict the electrode size that maximizes the actuator displacement. To verify the simulation results, eight PZT thin-film membrane actuators with progressive electrode sizes are fabricated. These actuators all have a square membrane of 800 μm × 800 μm with the inner diameter of the silicon residue controlled between 500 and 750 μm. A laser Doppler vibrometer is used to measure the actuator displacements. The experimental measurements confirm that there exists an optimal size of the top electrode maximizing the actuator displacement.     

A new control method for the relative dielectric constant of 1–3 piezoelectric composites realized with the LIGA process

 A plasma treatment for controlling the relative dielectric constant (ɛ_r) of fine-scale lead zirconate titanate (PZT) rods was developed. This new method made it easy to control ɛ_r of 1-3 piezoelectric composites, which were made up of fine-scale PZT rods in epoxy resin. The PZT rods were fabricated using the LIGA process, realizing an array of PZT rods with a cross section, height and volume fraction of 25 μm square, 250 μm and 25%, respectively. The new method consists of a plasma treatment applied before sintering of the PZT rods. By controlling the output RF power and duration of the plasma treatment, ɛ_r could be controlled between 250 and 400. Although extended plasma etching reduced ɛ_r, there were no changes in the piezoelectric properties and no defects in the sintered body. The ability to control ɛ_r of piezoelectric composites allows good electrical impedance matching with the electric circuit of diagnostic systems, thereby reducing signal transmission losses. Changing ɛ_r by varying the piezoelectric material or the sintering conditions requires lengthy process optimization. In contrast, controlling ɛ_r to establish a good impedance match can be done relatively easily with this new plasma technique because the piezoelectric properties are not affected.     

Motion error correction for non-contact ultrasonic motor driven by multi-layered piezoelectric actuators

An active non-contact ultrasonic motor with the micro positioning abilities of a rotor was proposed and performances were tested. The stator had a simple cylindrical form, which enabled low manufacturing costs. A resonant frequency of 22.2 kHz at eighth flexural mode of vibration was observed. With appropriate assembly and operation of piezoelectric actuators, the flexure vibration of the stator travels in the circumferential direction. The component of the stator deformation in radial direction creates an air film pressure higher than ambient thereby suspending the rotor. Simultaneously, the component that propagates in the circumferential direction rotates the rotor based on acoustic viscous flow. It was experimentally confirmed by electrical conduction test that the rotor rotated with levitation from stator. In addition, piezoelectric actuators around the stator exciting the deflective vibration could make contact-free micro positioning abilities of the rotor with a minimum step width of 0.15 μm.     

Effects of internal electrode composition on the reliability of low-firing PMN–PZT multilayer ceramic actuators

We investigated the effects of internal electrode composition on the reliability of low-firing multilayer ceramic actuators using Ag internal electrodes. Ag–ceramic composite pastes were prepared by adding Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–Pb(Zr_0.475,Ti_0.525)O₃ (PMNZT) ceramic powders to a commercial Ag paste at concentrations in the range of 0–60 vol%. PMNZT multilayered laminates were fabricated using tape casting, and then cofired at 925 °C for 10 h. The fatigue behaviors of multilayer actuators with Ag internal electrodes having different PMNZT concentrations were compared by applying a 2 kV/mm ac electric field at 50 °C under a relative humidity of 30%. The failure data were analyzed using Weibull statistics. The addition of PMNZT ceramics enhanced the mean time to failure by reducing the densification mismatch between the piezoelectric ceramic and internal electrode layers during the cofiring process.     

The transfer function of a new disc-type ultrasonic motor

This paper deals with the transfer functions of a new disc-type ultrasonic motor: stator and stator–rotor energy transformation. The objective is to initiate a mode that can produce certain relative dynamic responses in the proposed motor. The performance will be parameterized by system inputs in an attempt to obtain an optimal operational configuration. The transfer function model of the piezoelectric ultrasonic stator based on the lateral elliptical motion is derived for the control application and certification of its load-characteristic parameters and also predicts the motor performance. On this basis, we can determine whether the output of the motor will be stable. The contact-dynamics behaviors of the stator are also studied. These derived formulations in this paper are based on the general concept of the constitutive laws governing piezoelectric materials which permit the introduction of kinetic energy, electrical energy, and geometric constraints relating to the deformation variables.     

Flexible piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) for application in brain stimulation

We propose a new flexible piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) array integrated on flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that can be used in studying brain stimulation by ultrasound. To achieve the technical demands of a high sound pressure level and flexibility, a diaphragm-type piezoelectric ultrasound transducer array was manufactured with 55 μm-thick bulk lead zirconate titanate (PZT) that was thinned after bonding with a silicon wafer. The ultrasound transducer array was then strongly bonded onto a PDMS substrate using an oxygen-plasma treatment followed by precise dicing with a fixed pitch to achieve flexibility. The radius of curvature was smaller than 5 mm, which is sufficient for attachment to the surface of a mouse brain. After a thinning process for the PZT layer, we observed that the PZT layer still maintained a high ferroelectric property. The measured remnant polarization (P_r) and coercive field (E_c) were 28.26 μC/cm² and 79 kV/cm, respectively. The resonant frequencies of fabricated pMUT elements with different membrane sizes of 700, 800, 900, 1200 μm in diameter were measured to be 694.4, 565.4, 430.8, and 289.3 kHz, respectively. By measuring the ultrasound output pressure, a pMUT showed a sound intensity (I_sppa) of 44 mW/cm² at 80 V, which is high enough for low-intensity ultrasound brain stimulation.

     

Integration of displacement sensor into bulk PZT thick film actuator for MEMS deformable mirror

Bulk PZT thick film actuator integrated with displacement sensor, the so-called self-sensing actuator, is presented in this paper. The PZT film is used as not only an actuating layer but also a displacement sensor, which is achieved by dividing the electrode on the top surface of the PZT film into two parts: central top electrode for actuating and outer annular sensor electrode for piezoelectric displacement detection. When the actuator moves, the piezoelectric charge is induced in the outer annular PZT due to the piezoelectric effect. The total amount of accumulated charge is proportional to the stress acting on the PZT, which is in turn proportional to the actuator displacement. By collecting the piezoelectric charge, the actuator displacement can be detected. A theoretical model is proposed to determine the structure parameters of the sensor and predict the sensor sensitivity. Experiments were performed on the micro-fabricated sensor integrated PZT thick film actuator, and the measured piezoelectric charge is close to the theoretical predictions. The integrated piezoelectric sensor has a displacement sensitivity of approximately 4 pC/nm. In addition, the integration of displacement sensor into the actuator needs no additional fabrication process and has no influence on the actuator performances.     

Finite element-based analysis of shunted piezoelectric structures for vibration damping

Piezoelectric patches shunted with passive electrical networks can be attached to a host structure for reduction of structural vibrations. This approach is frequently called “shunted piezo damping” and has the advantage of guaranteed stability and low complexity in implementation. For numerical treatment of such structures, a finite element modelling methodology is presented that incorporates both the piezoelectric coupling effects of the patches and the electrical dynamics of the connected passive electrical circuits. It allows direct computation of the achieved modal damping ratios as a major design criterion of interest. The damping ratios are determined from the eigenvalue problem corresponding to the coupled model containing piezoelectric structure and passive electrical circuit. The model includes local stiffening and mass effects as a result of the attached patches and, therefore, enables accurate prediction of the natural frequencies and corresponding modal damping ratios. This becomes crucial for choosing the patch thickness to achieve optimal modal damping for a given host structure. Additionally, structures with complex geometry or spatially varying material properties can easily be handled. Furthermore, the use of a finite element formulation for the coupled model of piezoelectric patches and a host structure facilitates design modifications and systematic investigations of parameter dependencies. In this paper, the impact of parameters of the passive electrical network on modal damping ratios as well as the variation of the patch thickness are studied. An application of this modelling method is realized by commercial software packages by importing fully coupled ANSYS^© – models in MATLAB^©. Afterwards, modal truncation is applied, the dynamic equations of the passive electrical network are integrated into the piezoelectric model and eigenvalue problems are solved to extract the increase in modal damping ratios. The numerical results are verified by experiments.     

Characterisation of PZT thin film micro-actuators using a silicon micro-force sensor

This paper reports on the measurements of displacement and blocking force of piezoelectric micro-cantilevers. The free displacement was studied using a surface profiler and a laser vibrometer. The experimental data were compared with an analytical model which showed that the PZT thin film has a Young's modulus of 110 GPa and a piezoelectric coefficient d_31,f of 30 pC/N. The blocking force was investigated by means of a micro-machined silicon force sensor based on the silicon piezoresistive effect. The generated force was detected by measuring a change in voltage within a piezoresistors bridge. The sensor was calibrated using a commercial nano-indenter as a force and displacement standard. Application of the method showed that a 700 μm long micro-cantilever showed a maximum displacement of 800 nm and a blocking force of 0.1 mN at an actuation voltage of 5 V, within experimental error of the theoretical predictions based on the known piezoelectric and elastic properties of the PZT film.     

Resonant-Type Smooth Impact Drive Mechanism Actuator with Two Langevin Transducers

A smooth impact drive mechanism (SIDM) is a unique piezoelectric actuator that is widely used as a camera focusing mechanism, cell phone lens movement mechanism, etc. This principle enables a compact driving mechanism; however, it cannot generate high-speed movement because a soft-type multilayered piezoelectric transducer (PZT) is utilized at off-resonant movement. This paper proposes a resonant-type SIDM actuator driven with hard-type PZTs to realize high-speed and powerful operation. The fundamental principle is also based on the conventional SIDM; therefore, a saw-shaped movement is required. To generate a high-power ultrasonic output, two Langevin transducers are adopted instead of a soft-type multilayered PZT. One Langevin transducer was a stator and the other was slider whose tip was adhered to a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) rod. The CFRP rod was connected to the stator transducer with the frictional force. To obtain quasi-saw-shaped vibration, the longitudinal vibration for each Langevin transducer was excited and these movements were added at the connection point at the CFRP rod. In order to combine these vibration modes, the lengths of the stator and slider Langevin transducers were designed to make the resonant frequencies ratio to be 1:2. By using the proposed principle, the slider Langevin transducer was successfully driven with the speed of 0.11 m/s and the output force was 1.8 N with no load.     

Micromachined PZT cantilever based on SOI structure for low frequency vibration energy harvesting

A PZT piezoelectric cantilever with a micromachined Si proof mass is designed and fabricated for a low frequency vibration energy harvesting application. The SiO₂ layer in the SOI wafer promotes accurate control of the silicon thickness that is used as a supporting layer in the cantilever beam structure. The entire effective volume of the fabricated device is about 0.7690 mm³. When excited at 0.75g (g = 9.81 m/s²) acceleration amplitude at its resonant frequency of 183.8 Hz, the AC output measured across a resistive load of 16 kΩ connecting to the device in parallel has an amplitude of 101 mV. The average power and power density determined by the same measurement conditions are, respectively, 0.32 μW and 416 μW/cm³.     

A novel frequency method for quantitative analysis of fluorescence dye concentration by using series photodetector frequency circuit system

This study reported the frequency characteristics of series photodetector frequency circuit system for detection of fluorescence dye concentration. In the condition of the same fluorescence intensity, the series photodetector frequency circuit system with higher responsivity of photodetector had higher frequency shift. The 100 MHz series photodetector frequency circuit system was applied to determine the fluorescence dye concentration of HEX by frequency shift. The correlation curve showed that the frequency shift was linearly related to the logarithm of fluorescence dye concentration from 100 pmol 3 μl⁻¹ to 10 amol 3 μl⁻¹. The proposed method can be applied simply and the detection limit of fluorescence dye concentration was lower than the conventional fluorescence technique by 2–3 orders.     

Control of the microparticle position in the channel based on dielectrophoresis

We report here the control of the microparticles position within fluid flow based on its size by using dielectrophoresis (DEP) with a microelectrode array consisted of rectangular features with the different size of width and gap. 3 μm- and 10 μm-diameter particles were introduced into the channel with 300 μm height at 30 μl/min. An AC electric field (20 V peak–peak and 2 MHz) was then applied to microelectrode arrays to form dielectrophoretic fluid cage, resulting in a formation of flow paths with low electric fields on the arrays. The microparticles separately flow in line streams along the paths formed between the rectangular features of the arrays, the 3 μm-diameter particles mainly flow through the narrow path and 10 μm-diameter particles through the wide path. These results indicated that positions of two types of microparticles in the fluidic channel were easily separated and controlled using the n-DEP.