Development and Test of a Novel High-Precision Inchworm Piezoelectric Motor

Area of Science:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Inchworm piezoelectric motors offer long stroke and high resolution for precise positioning.
• Traditional designs suffer from complex assembly and control due to numerous actuators and intricate signal sequences.
• This complexity hinders their application in systems like wafer-level electron beam inspection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a simplified flexure-based actuation stator for inchworm piezoelectric motors.
• To reduce the number of piezoelectric actuators required for precision motion.
• To simplify excitation signal sequences for easier system integration and control.

Main Methods:

• A flexure-based actuation stator structure was designed and analyzed using the compliance matrix method.
• Kinematic and natural frequency models were established using the pseudo-rigid-body method and Lagrange's equations.
• Simulations and experimental analyses were conducted on the actuation stator and the inchworm piezoelectric motor.

Main Results:

• The proposed inchworm piezoelectric motor utilizes only two piezoelectric actuators.
• The design mitigates backstep effects through alternating actuation of clamping and driving mechanisms.
• The motor achieved a maximum step displacement of 16.3 μm and a maximum speed of 9.78 mm/s at 600 Hz.

Conclusions:

• The developed flexure-based inchworm piezoelectric motor simplifies design and control.
• The motor demonstrates superior motion resolution, operational stability, and acceptable load capacity.
• This simplified design is highly suitable for precise positioning in advanced inspection systems.