A rigid and compact piezoelectric motor with high output efficiency

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Traditional stepper motors often lack compactness and rigidity.
• Piezoelectric actuators offer high precision but require integration into robust systems.
• Existing designs may have limitations in multi-directional operability and low-voltage performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel piezoelectric stepper motor with enhanced compactness, rigidity, and multi-directional operability.
• To demonstrate a simple working principle for precise motion control.
• To validate the motor's performance at low threshold voltages and varying conditions.

Main Methods:

• A novel design sandwiching piezo stacks between spring finger pieces with optimized clamping force.
• Individual driving signals applied to five piezo stack pairs for controlled deformation and recovery.
• Experimental validation of operational capability in vertical and horizontal directions.
• Characterization of step size, frequency, driving voltage, travel range, and load capacity.

Main Results:

• The piezoelectric stepper motor exhibits high compactness and rigidity.
• Operates effectively in any direction at low threshold voltages (8-10 V).
• Achieves step sizes from 0.3 to 7.4 µm at 20 Hz and 10-180 V.
• Demonstrates a maximum travel range of 5 mm, lifts up to 220 g (2.2 N force).

Conclusions:

• The novel piezoelectric stepper motor design is highly effective and versatile.
• Its compact and rigid nature is suitable for building atomically resolved scanning probe microscopes.
• Potential applications include sample cleavage in confined spaces like superconducting magnets and low-temperature environments.