Actuators
Morgan Technical Ceramics Electroceramics (MTC Electroceramics) is a leader in the design and manufacture of advanced ceramics. MTC Electroceramics has over 55 years experience in the development and production of electroceramic materials and components for the electronics industry. By combining its piezoelectric materials expertise and multi-layer capacitor production techniques, MTC Electroceramics can now offer a range of multi-layer actuators to meet the growing demand for precise, controllable and repeatable displacement devices in the micrometer and submicrometer range.
Multi-layer piezoelectric ceramic actuators are devices for generating movements in the micrometer range. When subjected to an electric field, piezoelectric ceramics deform in shape. The amount of deformation is proportional to the applied electric field and the d33 coefficient of the material. As the displacement of the ceramic is proportional to the electric field, a high field is required for large movements. However, low voltage power supplies are cheaper, safer and more readily available and so, to achieve a high field from a low voltage, the ceramic layer thickness needs to be as thin as is possible. The stacking of such thin layers, to form a multilayer structure, yields a device which generates large strains at relatively low applied voltages.
The actuators are capable of microns of expansion, kilonewtons of force, and tens of microseconds of response time.
