Co-fired piezoelectric ceramics are formed by stacking PZT layers, which are separated by electrodes across the whole surface area of the stack. The whole stack is sintered together with the interdigital electrodes to form an integral structure. These piezoelectric actuators convert electrical energy into accurately controlled mechanical displacements, making them ideal for applications requiring rapid and accurate position changes on the nanometer or micron scale.

The isolation and conductor design of co-fired piezoelectric stack is different from that of discrete piezoelectric stack. Compared with the insulation gap used in discrete piezoelectric stack, this design has a larger contact area and a larger percentage of active PZT material than that of vertical piezoelectric stack, which helps to reduce internal stress.

These multilayer devices are very suitable for nano and micron positioning. As the voltage applied to the driver rises from 0 V to the driving voltage, the piezoelectric element will expand longitudinally. Our open-loop piezoelectric actuator provides displacement from 4.6 μ m to 20.0 μ m. Piezoelectric devices (such as these actuators) exhibit hysteresis, so the displacement of the actuator is not only dependent on the applied voltage.