Newton, NJ – June 1, 2023 – Thorlabs announced that it has expanded its piezoelectric product line with the release of high-temperature multilayer actuators that can operate at temperatures as high as 250°. Manufactured in-house from BiScO3-PbTiO3 (BSPT) ceramics, these 5 mm x 5 mm x 3 mm actuators provide up to 4 µm of travel when driven with 150 V.
BiScO3-PbTiO3-Based Actuator with Pre-Attached Wires (Item # PA4FKYW)
Known for its high Curie temperature (up to 430°), BSPT has been studied for decades; however, multilayer devices fabricated from the ceramic are rarely reported.
“The BSPT actuators were inspired by a customer who was seeking to find a low voltage piezo actuator that could work above 200°. Traditional piezo actuators based on PZT material have a maximum operating temperature of about 150°,” said Renlong Gao, Thorlabs’ Piezo Product Line Manager. “During development, we confirmed that operating temperatures up to 250° were possible with BSPT and then fine-tuned our manufacturing processes to enable volume production.”
Custom BSPT piezo actuators with displacement up to 100 µm and drive voltage down to 45 V are available upon request. To discuss your application needs with our piezo team, please contact techsales@thorlabs.com. For more information on Thorlabs' new piezo products including actuators, transducers, and motion control devices, please visit www.thorlabs.com.
About Thorlabs: Thorlabs, a vertically integrated photonics products manufacturer, was founded in 1989 to serve the laser and electro-optics research market. As that market has spawned a multitude of technical innovations, Thorlabs has extended its core competencies in an effort to play an ever-increasing role to serve the Photonics Industry at the research end, as well as the industrial, life science, medical, and defense segments. The organization’s highly integrated and diverse manufacturing assets include semiconductor fabrication of Fabry-Perot, DFB, and VCSEL lasers; fiber towers for drawing both silica and fluoride glass optical fibers; MBE/MOCVD epitaxial wafer growth reactors; extensive glass and metal fabrication facilities; advanced thin film deposition capabilities; and optomechanical and optoelectronic shops.