Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
As Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) continue to mature and increase in design complexity, the need to exploit rotation in MEMS devices has become more apparent. An in-plane piezoelectric rotational actuator is proposed that provides free deflections on the order of 1.5° with applied biases of less than 35V and nanoampere currents. Moments up to 6×10−8 N·m, corresponding to forces of 125 μN, were measured using MEMS cantilever springs. The actuator utilizes the low-power, high-force characteristics of lead zirconate titanate and a coupled, dual offset-beam design to provide efficient rotational displacement. The resulting power consumption is three orders of magnitude less than current electrothermal rotational designs.