Piezoceramic multilayer actuator with a transition region between the active region and the inactive head and foot regions

US7042143B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Ceramtec AG, Innovative Ceramic Engineering · DE

Inventors

• Reiner Bindig · Bindlach, DE
• Jurgen Schmidt · Los Alamos, US
• Matthias Simmerl · Leupoldsgrün, DE
• Gunter Helke · Achern, DE
• Hans-Jürgen Schreiner · Lauf an der Pegnitz, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 13, 2002
• Grant date: May 9, 2006
• Expiry date: Aug 1, 2023

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10N30/50

Abstract

In piezoceramic multilayer actuators, the head region and the foot region consist of inactive, that is to say electrode-free, piezoceramic layers. Due to the arrangement of the metallic electrodes and the layers of the piezoceramic materials, the shrinkage of the piezoceramic material, in particular in the passive head region and foot region, is influenced during the sintering process and can cause the formation of cracks. Different expansion behavior of the active and of the passive region during operation also lead to stresses which favor crack formation, in particular at the boundary between both regions.According to the invention, it is therefore proposed that a transition region (11), whose shrinkage and expansion behavior lies between the shrinkage and expansion behavior of the active region (10) and the shrinkage and expansion behavior of an inactive region (8, 9) which are electrode free, adjoins the active region (10) up to the inactive head region (8) and up to the inactive foot region (9).