This paper presents the fabrication and the testing of piezoelectric unimorph actuators with embedded piezoelectric sensors which are meant to be used for the actuation of the Micromechanical Flying Insect (MFI). First the fabrication process of a piezoelectric bending actuator comprising a standard unimorph and a rigid extension is described together with the advantages of adding such an exten...

Based on the multi-chamber series structure, a piezoelectric micropump with high output performance is proposed in this paper. The composed of circular unimorph vibrator, cantilever check valve, and pump body. First, working process was analyzed detail. Then, effect key dimension parameters explored. mainly refer to height chamber valve opening (the deformation size valve). Finally, experimenta...

The effect of the temperature variation on a unimorph piezoelectric cantilever is studied. Its influences on the thermal expansion, the piezoelectric constant, the transient part and the creep are experimentally analyzed. Afterwards, a H∞ controller is synthesized in order to reject the thermal disturbance and to reach performances required in micromanipulation. Finally, the closed-loop experim...

Research into energy harvesting from ambient vibration sources has attracted great interest over the last few years, largely as a result of advances in the areas of wireless technology and low-power electronics. One of the mechanisms for converting mechanical vibration to electrical energy is the use of piezoelectric materials, typically operating as a cantilever in a bending mode, which genera...

We have examined a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever (PUC) with unequal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths for vibration energy harvesting theoretically by extending the analysis of a PUC with equal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths. The theoretical approach was validated by experiments. A case study showed that for a fixed vibration frequency, the maximum open-circuit induced ...

Piezoelectric unimorphs are bilayer structures where a blanket piezoelectric film (with top and bottom electrodes) is uniformly laminated on an inactive but flexible substrate. Because of their simple construction and flexibility, unimorphs are widely used as a key element in flexible sensors and actuators. The response of a unimorph is governed by the material properties of the film and the su...

Piezoelectric diaphragms are used as synthetic jets because of their size, rapid time response, and relatively low power consumption. Among the piezoelectric diaphragms used are unimorphs and Bimorphs. In this study, a bimorph diaphragm, a thin Unimorph pre-stressed device and a Radial Field Diaphragm (RFD) are compared. A bimorph consists of two bonded PZT discs, a thin Unimorph pre-stressed d...

Aiming at the fabrication of a micro-textured surface, novel piezoelectric-driven non-resonant elliptical vibrator is proposed in this paper; output characteristics could be adjusted by length change tool holder. The flexible mechanism primary structure vibrator, which includes lever type mechanism, an enhanced Scott–Russell and T-shaped mechanism. former two mechanisms are used to enlarge piez...

In order to improve the output capacity of a piezoelectric pump when transferring gas, this paper presents a compact resonant piezoelectric diaphragm pump (hereinafter referred to as the piezoelectric diaphragm pump), which is driven by a rectangular piezoelectric vibrator. The compact structure can effectively release the vibrating constraints of the vibrator, and enlarge its center output dis...

Mathematical models and circuitry necessary for optimal energy conversion have been developed for piezoelectric devices because of their ability to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. The piezoelectric device that is the focus of this study is a curved, thin unimorph prestressed bender. This device consists of layers of piezoelectric material, polyimide, and metal bonded at high tem...