Piezo Technology made Affordable

Flexure Actuators for Speed, Precision and Force

PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. -- a leading manufacturer of piezo ceramic actuators and precision motion-control equipment for semiconductor, bio-medical and nanotechnology applications -- has released a new brochure on Lever Amplified Piezo Flexure Actuators.

The brochure presents a number of new applications along with a variety newly designed, low-cost flexure actuators for OEMs.

Traditional Piezo Systems Use

Piezo actuators and positioning systems are traditionally known for their extremely high precision in the sub-nanometer realm such as required in atomic force microscopy, nanotechnology and semiconductor applications. The extreme precision has given this cutting edge technology a reputation for high cost.

However...

Piezo actuators can do a lot more than "just" nanometers. Their excellent dynamics and high force play a crucial role in many areas, where the (nanometer) precision is of lesser importance: e.g. for fast switching, vibration cancellation, or to adjust tools in machines. In these applications the piezo actuator is one - if not the only - solution and in the case of the new PiezoMove OEM actuators, a very affordable one.

PiezoMove actuators combine flexure guided motion with long travel ranges up to 1mm and affordability. They are very compact, easy to integrate, require no maintenance and provide service life of Billions of cyles. If nanometer precision is required, closed-loop versions are also available.

Application fields

Microfluidics: Valves, pumps, microliter and nanoliter dosing

Biotechnology: Cell manipulation, patch-clamp, microarrays, nanoliter dosing, dispensers, microstructuring with imprint processes

Medical engineering: Diaphragm pumps, valves, dosing, injection, sample handling

Mechatronics, machining, adaptronics: Active structures, vibration isolation, active tools, structure deformation

Laser technology, metrology: Cavity tuning, beam control, control of optics or slit widths, sample positioning.