Actuators

AOA Xinetics manufactures Lead Magnesium Niobate (PMN:RE) electrostrictive multilayer actuators. The materials and processes to manufacture the actuators have been engineered for our products to have low creep, low hysteresis, nano-meter precision and high reliability which is preferred for many optical applications. Our actuators are multilayered capacitors with each capacitive layer being PMN:RE, separated by conductive electrodes. The PMN material has a unique internal crystalline structure which polarizes when an electric field is applied. An electric field is generated across each capacitive layer when voltage is applied to the conductive electrodes between PMN layers. This process exhibits ferroelectric behaviors producing PMN elongation along the axis of the actuator resulting in the actuator growing in length (actuator stroke).

Electrostrictive Multilayer PMN Actuators

Typical Performance Specifications:

• Optimal Temperature Range: 10°C – 30°C
• Typical Operating Voltages: 0 V – 100 V
• Typical Hysteresis between 0 – 100 V: < 5%
• Optical Creep at room temperature: ~ λ/2000 at 0.63 μm
• Resolution: Nano-meters
• Operating Frequency: Driver dependent
• Stroke Range: see chart below

Standard actuators come in many sizes (length, diameter and PMN layer thickness), all with customizable lead lengths, gauges and colors. All actuator undergo Lot Acceptance Testing along with full visual inspection and 100% electrical screening to guarantee product quality and go through a 100,000 lifecycle and 24 hour constant voltage evaluation prior to shipment to ensure lifetime requirements. Many of these actuators have logged tens-of-millions of stroke cycles with no degradation of performance to date. Custom actuators design and manufacturing is available upon request.

Single Axis Displacement Tube