Research/Quartz Micromachining and Piezoelectric Microactuators

Quartz Piezoelectric Actuators†

Quartz is known as a material of oscillators to deliver clock signals to digital circuits. It has piezoelectricity to induce and detect strain. It also has anisotropic wet etching characteristics. In particular, a Z-cut quartz wafer can be used to form holes normal to the surface. We used these two features of quartz to develop piezoelectric micro actuators. The optical chopper shown here is used in an infrared light detector. It regulates the incident light intermittently to make it ready for AC amplification. The chopper plate is supported with four suspensions, each of them has electrodes for piezoelectric actuation.

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Optical Chopper by Quartz Microactutor†

Driving voltage 100~150V, piezoelectric suspension 50 micron wide, 2 mm long, 100 micron thick, "meandering electrode" & "self align electrode" techniques, resonance 2~5 kHz, self-excitation feedback control. Collaboration with YOKOGAWA Electric Co. in 1992.