Useful Articles and Papers
Want to learn more about piezoelectric micro motors and their
applications? Here are some articles and papers that we think you'll find useful.
Have a look, and then give us a call with your questions
about the technology and its applications. We love this stuff!
Article
Adding
automated focus to biometric, medical and industrial micro cameras
October 2011
By Dave Henderson and Dan Viggiano III, New Scale Technologies
We all are familiar with the consumer digital cameras that are in
our pockets, mobile phones and personal computers. Thanks to
incredible advances in microelectronics, CMOS image sensors and
optics, most of us have a very good camera within reach most of the
time.
Now these tiny cameras are inspiring product engineers in
“non-consumer” applications—such as biometric identification,
medical and diagnostic devices, and machine vision—to make even
greater products. In fact, markets for these new applications are
projected to grow faster than consumer camera markets over the next
few years.
In this article we discuss sensor and lens requirements, compare the
M3-F focus module to voice coil motors and stepper motors, and talk
about image processing, digital signal processing and other system
considerations.
Read the article
Article
Mechatronics
Meets Miniaturization
published in
Design
World
October 11, 2010
By Dave Henderson and Lisa Schaertl, New Scale Technologies
Designing with piezoelectric (piezo) motors requires a different
mindset than that used with traditional servo or stepper motors. The
traditional approach of specifying the motor and then buying or
designing the control system works for servo and stepper motors
because there is a vast body of “cookbook motor” control solutions
and experienced drive teams available for traditional motor
implementation. This is not the case for piezo motors, which require
special drive circuits to create and maintain ultrasonic resonant
vibrations in the motor.
In addition, piezo motors are most effective when the mechanics,
electronics, control system, software - and even the motor design
itself - are developed in concert. In this way the piezoelectric
ceramics, the silicon, and the system can be tuned to work together
for optimal performance. It is a perfect illustration of the
benefits of a mechatronic design process.
Here’s what happened in a multi-year collaboration among
engineers and scientists at New Scale Technologies,
austriamicrosystems and TDK-EPC to simultaneously develop the motor,
mechanics, electronics and control systems for the M3
micro-mechatronics module.
Read the full article (330Kb PDF)
Since 2006, SQUIGGLE piezo motor systems have
shrunk in size from (at right) a 12 mm diameter motor with 51 x 76 x
14 mm drive card, to (at left) a 2 x 2 x 5 mm motor with a flip-chip
drive ASIC (shown on the dime). This enabled the creation of
integrated micro-mechatronics modules such as the M3-L module
(center) – complete closed-loop motion systems in housings of less
than 7 x 12 x 30 mm
Article
Low
Power Piezo Motion:
Reduced-voltage piezo motor breakthrough creates options for medical
devices
published in
Design News
May 2010
By Al Presher, contributing editor
Dramatic reductions in voltage and power requirements are making
tiny piezo motors and drive systems an interesting option for
portable, low-power medical devices. By eliminating the need for the
high voltage normally associated with piezo systems, a new piezo
motor design from New Scale Technologies enables miniature motion
systems that operate on a single 3-V battery without using voltage
boost circuits.
"Normally piezo technology requires input of 40 volts or more,
which is a concern especially in medical applications," says Ralph
Weber, product manager for New Scale. Even though their previous
systems and ASIC could run on a 3.3-V input, Weber says that the
boost circuits to produce the higher input voltage required by all
piezoelectric motors can scare designers.
Continue reading article at Design News.
Article
Hula-Hoop
im Nanometerbereich
Winziger Piezo-Motor sorgt für scharfe Bilder
published in
Sensor Magazin
4 November 2009
By Josef Janisch, austriamicrosystems
Kaum eine technische Revolution hat in so kurzer Zeit unser
Verhalten verändert wie die Einführung der digitalen Fotografie.
Fast über Nacht sind die »klassischen« Rollfilm-Fotoapparate, die
über Jahrzehnte hinweg Eindrücke aus unserem Leben festhielten, aus
den Regalen der Geschäfte verschwunden und durch digitale Kameras
ersetzt worden. Download
the PDF
Article
Mechatronics in miniature
published in
ECN.com
August 2009
By Lisa Schaertl, New Scale Technologies
New motor and sensor technologies enable mechatronics in
miniature. Closed-loop electromechanical motion systems, based on
piezoelectric micro motors, measure just a few millimeters in size.
They meet the need for small size, low power use, precision and
robustness for applications from consumer electronics to industrial
locks to medical devices.
Read
Mechatronics in miniature.
Article
Piezo motor based medical devices
from
Medical Design Technology
April 2009
By Ralph Weber, New Scale Technologies
Piezo motor technology is still in its relatively early stages of
application development, but is already demonstrating the tremendous
value and functionality it offers in medical devices. These motors
are very small, yet enable long-range and precise motion. This
article reviews several solutions in which piezo motor technology is
enhancing the capabilities of medical devices.
We include a discussion of micro- and nano-fluidic pumps,
implantable devices and surgical robots.
Continue at Medical Design Technology online.
Article
Cobra – a Two-Degree of Freedom Fiber Optic Positioning
Mechanism (incorporating two rotary piezo micro motors)
Presented at the 2009 IEEE Aerospace Conference 2009,
paper #1185
by C. Fisher, D. Braun and J. Kaluzny of Jet Propulsion
Laboratories (JPL) - California Institute of Technology and T. Haran
of New Scale Technologies
The Wide-Field Multi Object Spectrometer (WFMOS) is a ground
based astronomical instrument that is scheduled to be commissioned
on the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii in 2013. An array of
fiber positioners feed light from a 1.5 degree field of the sky to a
visible spectrometer for red shift observations of 2400 cosmological
targets simultaneously. The light is transferred to the spectrograph
using 2400 f/2.4 fibers with 107µm cores. This enables, for the
first time, large scale Galactic Archeology and Dark Energy surveys
to help unlock the secrets of the universe.
The key enabler of this new capability is an array of 2400 fiber
positioners made from very small custom rotary piezoelectric motors
developed specifically for this purpose by New Scale Technologies.
Read more about NASA
JPL's Cobra fiber positioner and New Scale's rotary piezo motors
Article
Power
Packed
Piezoelectric motors: big power, small package
from
MICROmanufacturing Magazine
Winter 2008
By Bill Kennedy, Contributing Editor
An excellent introduction to piezoelectric
motors. This article presents a background explanation of the
piezoelectric effect and its use in several different motor designs,
including New Scale's direct linear drive SQUIGGLE motor as well as
MicroMo's Piezo Wave and Piezo Legs configurations.
Download
the full article (978 Kb PDF)
or
visit MICROmanufacturing.com to download the entire
Winter 2008 issue
Technical Paper
A Mobile Robot Driven by Miniature Onboard Motors for
Cardiac Intervention
Presented at the 34th Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference. 2008; 9-10.
by P. Allen, N. Patronik and C. Riviere of the The Robotics Institute
at Carnegie Mellon University, and M. Zenati of the Division of Cardiac
Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh
This paper describes the development and construction of a mobile
robot driven by miniature ultrasonic piezoelectric motors (SQUIGGLE
motors) for minimally invasive cardiac therapy. The robot design
extends upon previous prototypes of
HeartLander
miniature mobile robot that moves in an inchworm-like fashion.
The HeartLander OMNI (Onboard Motor Navigational Instrument) has
been developed to reduce tether stiffness by utilizing small
onboard motors (SQUIGGLE motors), which
would result in more efficient turning capability by eliminating the
drive-wire mechanism from the tether of the robot. The development of the robot allows for increased
turning capability and higher traction during locomotion, and
represents the first step in designing a wireless mobile robot for
cardiac therapy.
The robotic design was developed as a proof of
concept to demonstrate mobility on the cardiac surface. Construction of the
system included motor selection, body design, and development of the
control system. This paper presents the design of the robotic
platform and preliminary testing results in vitro.
Download the paper "Mobile
Robot Driven by Miniature Onboard [SQUIGGLE] Motors for Cardiac
Intervention." (74Kb PDF)
Article
Piezoelectric motors save power and downsize electronic access control
from
Industrial Embedded Systems Magazine
July 2008
By Dan Viggiano III and Lisa Schaertl, New Scale Technologies
This article presents several applications in
electronic access control where systems designers can benefit from
smaller, lighter, less power-hungry actuators. We compare new
piezoelectric motor actuators to classic solutions such as DC
motors, stepper motors, shape memory alloys and solenoids, and
demonstrate the electrical integration of the actuator module in an
embedded system.
Read the article at Industrial Embedded
Systems: "Piezoelectric
motors save power and downsize electronic access control"
Technical Paper
Autonomous Positioning System for
Implantable Hearing Aids Using Piezo Motors
Presented at Actuator 2008, Bremen, Germany, June 2008
by D. Kaltenbacher and A. Schäfer, Fraunhofer Institut für
Produktionstechnik und Automatisierung (IPA) and J. Rodriguez Jorge,
Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
Researchers in Germany are investigating improved implantable
hearing aids using a SQUIGGLE motor.
Implantable hearing aids transmit sound waves mechanically to the
ossicular chain using an electromechancial transducer, resulting in
superior amplification and sound quality compared to classical
hearing aids.
A key performance parameter is the applied initial load of the
transducer towards the ossicular chain. Currently this load is
adjusted by the surgeon during implantation using a micrometer
screw, with limited accuracy due to the screw's relatively large
linear motion. Furthermore, no readjustment after the surgery is
possible. Therefore hearing aid performance decreases as the bone
tissue grows, causing the initial load between transducer and
ossicular chain to change.
The researchers describe an active positioning system that would
allow the adjustment of the transducer in situ at any given time,
preserving optimal performance. The system technical requirements
were investigated and summarized in this paper.
Visit the
Actuator conference
website to purchase the 2008 proceedings.
Technical Paper
Piezo Motor for Ultra-Thin Auto Focus Cameras
Presented at Actuator 2008, Bremen, Germany, June 2008
By David Henderson, Qin Xu and Danielle Piazza
New Scale Technologies
In 2008, approximately 1.2 billion mobile phone handsets will be manufactured.
Of these, more than 200 million will include cameras with a micro actuator for automatic
focus (AF). More than 10 million will also incorporate optical zoom (OZ) combined with
AF. To keep pace with shrinking camera dimensions and increasing mega pixels, the motors
must become smaller and yet still achieve micrometer precision.
In 2003 New Scale developed the SQUIGGLE® motor, which meets the longer stroke
requirements for AF and OZ cameras.
This motor is 50 percent smaller than comparable piezo motors while achieving 10 times
higher force and resolution.
In 2007-2008 New Scale developed a new patent-pending ultrasonic piezo motor that
meets the challenges of Ultra-Thin Auto Focus (UTAF) cameras. The UTAF motor saves
space and height by combining the motor with the linear guide mechanism and enables
overall camera thickness less than 5 mm.
This paper describes the use of the SQUIGGLE motor in AFOZ modules, and presents
the company's newer UTAF motor for ultra-thin autofocus cameras.
Email us to request a copy.
Article
Design
miniaturisierter Produkte mit piezoelektrischen Motoren
(Design smaller products with piezoelectric
motors)
By Lisa Schaertl and Michael Dreher
Elektronik Magazine - November 2007
The combination of small size, low power use and high precision
makes the SQUIGGLE motor interesting for applications including
mobile phone cameras, electronic locks and latches, medical devices
such as endoscope optics and drug pumps, and microfluidic devices
including fuel cells and lab-on-a-chip devices.
This article describes the operating principle, electrical
integration, and applications of SQUIGGLE motors.
Contact us to request a copy (in
German).
Article: product review
Evaluation Kits Jump Start Motor Applications
By Jon Titus, Contributing Editor
Design News Magazine - August 13, 2007
Read Jon Titus' review of the SQUIGGLE motor demonstration kit
"If you have an application that could benefit from a small
actuator, take a close look at the tiny piezoelectric SQUIGGLE
motors," writes Design News editor Jon Titus. "Of course, you
may need a magnifying glass to actually see how these interesting
devices operate... The demonstration device lets
engineers see how they might apply the tiny SQUIGGLE motors in a
real mechatronics device."
Read more... and then contact us if
you'd like to see the demo yourself.
Technical Paper
Novel Piezo Motor Enables Positive Displacement Microfluidic Pump
Presented at NSTI Nanotech, Santa Clara, CA, May 2007
By David Henderson
New Scale Technologies
Download
the paper "Positive Displacement Microfluidic Pump" (830KB PDF)
We present the world’s smallest linear motor and its use in tiny
syringe and reciprocating piston pumps for microfluidic applications.
SQUIGGLE® motors create direct displacement pumps that achieve nanoliter
precision in a pump assembly the size of a pen cap.
In this design, linear motion directly moves a piston or bellows. The output
pressure and flow are easily scaled by adjusting the piston diameter.
A reference pump design is presented that achieves output pressure of 255 kPa,
flow of 0.24 ml per minute at an oscillation frequency of 0.8 Hz and flow
precision of 0.8 nl. In contrast, commercial oscillating membrane pumps are
much larger, generate a 20 Hz or higher pulse frequency and produce much
lower output pressure and accuracy.
SQUIGGLE motor pumps can miniaturize a variety of instruments including
lab-on-a-chip systems, drug delivery devices, micro fuel cells, cooled
computer chips, lubrication systems, spacecraft thrusters and liquid optics.
Technical Paper
SQUIGGLE motor applications for whole body
small animal MRI
By Steven G. Turowski, Michael Loecher, Mukund Seshadri and
Richard Mazurchuk
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
Read the Roswell
Park paper about SQUIGGLE motors and MRI
Traditional electromagnetic motors contain ferrous metal and
represent a safety hazard in areas containing strong magnetic
fields. They also generate magnetic and RF fields during operation
that can damage hardware damage and cause undesirable image
artifacts. In addition, motor operation may be influenced by static
and gradient magnetic fields used during MRI data acquisition,
causing the motor to function unpredictably or to be permanently
damaged.
To overcome these problems, our laboratory investigated the
potential utility of the piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motor in small
animal imaging-related applications, including remote administration
of contrast agents to animals and dynamic repositioning of the
animals within the MR scanner.
The SQUIGGLE motor allowed precise delivery of low doses of the
MRI contrast media in real time during data acquisition. Based
on our work to date, piezoelectric motors such as the SQUIGGLE motor
hold great promise for use in MRI environments and to improve the
efficiency and quality of preclinical MRI data acquisitions.
Case Study
Cryogenic SQUIGGLE motors for active alignment of
cooled optics in cryogenic sensors (hyperspectral imaging)
March 2007
The piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motor operates continuously from
room temperature to cryogenic temperatures (77 Kelvins and
lower) . This unique feature presents new opportunities to
improve cryogenic sensors, used for applications such as
infrared imaging, thermal imaging and hyperspectral imaging.
Read about Cryogenic SQUIGGLE motors for active alignment of
cooled optics in cryogenic sensors (hyperspectral imaging).
Article
Piezoelectric motors move miniaturization forward
Electronic Products Magazine
October 2006
By David Henderson and Lisa Schaertl, New Scale Technologies
Read online at
Electronic Products Magazine
or
download the article "Piezo Motors Move Miniaturization Forward"
(332Kb PDF)
Ultrasonic piezoelectric motors have been around for more than 30 years. Recent innovations have improved the motors’
robustness and manufacturability, in ever smaller sizes. Now these tiny ceramic motors have caught the attention of
consumer product designers, as a way to pack more features into tinier products.
This article
compares piezo motors to other motor technologies for phone cameras, including miniature electromagnetic motors, voice
coil actuators, liquid lenses, and piezo bimorph actuators. It then compares two types of piezo motors that have been
commercialized for phone camera applications
Technical Paper
Design considerations for a time-resolved tomographic
diagnostic at DARHT
from
Proceedings of SPIE -- Volume 6289
Sep. 5, 2006
By Morris I. Kaufman, Daniel Frayer, Wendi Dreesen, Douglas Johnson, Alfred Meidinger; NSTec, Los Alamos Operations (Bechtel Nevada)
A SQUIGGLE motor is used to remotely control the aperture of an instrument that has been developed to acquire time-resolved tomographic data from the electron beam at the DARHT [Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test] facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Installation of this instrument into the facility requires automation of both the optomechanical adjustments and calibration of the instrument in a constrained space.
The instrument will be located inside a sealed (non-ventilated) steel shed without cooling or heating controls. Consequently, the temperature may vary between –10º to 140ºF. Water may be present during certain experiments, so the system may operate near the dew point. During experiments the shed has high levels of radiation and electro-magnetic interference (EMI). The SQUIGGLE motor has proven to operate successfully under these harsh conditions.
Technical Paper
Simple ceramic motors ... inspiring smaller products
Presented at Actuator 2006, Bremen, Germany, June 2006
By David Henderson
Download
the paper: "Simple Ceramic Motors ... Inspiring Smaller Products"
(148 KB PDF)
A new linear piezoelectric motor is presented called the SQUIGGLE® motor. Ultrasonic vibrations in a threaded nut
directly rotate and translate a threaded screw. The newest model is only 1.55 X 1.55 mm square and 6 mm long and uses
less than 0.1 Watt to produce 20 grams of force at 5 mm per second. High linear force, power, precision and low cost
make SQUIGGLE motors ideal for emerging micro motion applications including: mobile phone cameras, micro fluidic
devices, implantable drug pumps, deformable mirrors for adaptive optics, and basic laboratory research including MRI,
vacuum and cryogenics.
Technical Paper
Use of a piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motor for positioning at 6 Kelvins in a
cryostat
from the Journal of
Cryogenics
Volume 46, issue 9, September 2006,
pages 694-696
$30 for non-subscribers or
email us to request a copy for personal use
by B.T.H. Varcoe and B. Sanguinetti, Quantum Optics Group, Department of Physics, University of Sussex
The piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motor model SQ-110C from New Scale Technologies, Inc. has been used in a cryostat as part
of a mechanism to accurately deform a cylindrical superconducting microwave resonator in order to change its resonant
frequency.
This paper describes the practical setup for testing and using the
cryogenic motor in a cryostat, and comments on the
performance of the motor at temperatures from room temperature to 6 Kelvins.
Cryogenics is the international journal of low temperature engineering including applied superconductivity, cryoelectronics and cryophysics.
Article
Micro moves
from
Machine Design Magazine
January 12, 2006
By David A. Henderson, New Scale Technologies
Motors that can precisely position loads with micrometer-scale accuracy are now inexpensive enough for consumer
electronics. Applications include auto focus and optical zoom modules for mobile phone cameras, and implantable
and wearable medical devices that are compatible with MRI systems.
This article
describes the motor operation in detail.
Article
Piezo ceramic motors improve phone cameras
By David A. Henderson, New Scale Technologies
Download article: Piezo ceramic motors improve phone cameras
(250 KB PDF)
The market for mobile phone cameras has exploded in the past few years.
More than 300 million mobile phone cameras will be produced in 2005,
according to Future Image’s 2005 Mobile Imaging Report. By
the year 2007, that number is expected to grow to more than 500
million.
Today, nearly all mobile phone cameras have fixed optics, and produce mediocre
pictures. But the industry is racing to improve image quality.
Motorized auto focus (AF) and optical zoom (OZ) are proven solutions
for making better pictures. It is projected that by the year 2007,
20% of phone cameras will include AF and OZ features.
New miniature motor technology is needed to achieve this ambitious growth.
Piezoelectric ultrasonic motors offer a novel alternative to
electromechanical motors for mobile phone cameras and other
miniature product applications.
Recommended Reading on Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motors
Ultrasonic Motors, Technologies and Applications
By Chunsheng Zhao (Nanjing University of Aeronautics and
Astronautics)
A comprehensive tutorial on ultrasonic motors for practicing
engineers, researchers and graduate students. "Ultrasonic Motors:
Technologies and Applications" describes the operating mechanism,
electromechanical coupling models, optimization design of structural
parameters, testing methods, and drive/control techniques of various
ultrasonic motors and their applications.
Published by Science Press Beijing. 2011.
Buy the book online at
Amazon.com
Dr. Chunsheng Zhao is a professor at
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) where he
is Director of the Precision Driving Laboratory at NUAA. He is a
member of the Chinese Academy of Science, and holds 54 patents in
China and published more than 400 papers in the field of
piezoelectric ultrasonic motors.
Micromechatronics
By Kenji Uchino (Pennsylvania State University) and Jayne R. Giniewicz (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)
From Book News: A reference or text for graduate students and industrial engineers working in electronic materials, control system engineering, optical communications, precision machinery, and robotics. Topics include recent developments in micropositioning technology; displacement transducer, motor, and ultrasonic motor applications; piezoelectric and electrorestrictive phenomena; and technological and economic impact of
micromechatronics.
Published by Marcel Dekker, Inc. 2003.
Buy the book online at
Dekker.com or at
Amazon.com
Kenji Uchino is director of the
International Center for Actuators and Transducers
(ICAT) at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
An Introduction to Ultrasonic Motors
By Toshiiku Sashida (Shinsei Industries, Japan) and Takashi Kenjo (University of Industrial
Technology, Kanagawa, Japan.
Published by Oxford University Press 1994.
Buy the book online from the
Oxford University Press
