Determination of optimal crystallographic orientations for LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 bimorph actuators

Abstract. The actuators for precise positioning based on bimorph structures of piezoelectric LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 crystals are considered. The optimal orientations of the actuator plates ensuring the highest possible displacements are determined by the extreme surfaces technique and the finite-element method. The simulated displacements for optimal orientations of LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 plates are compared with those obtained experimentally for manufactured LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 actuators, whose orientations are not optimal. As is shown, the optimal configuration of the actuator allows us to significantly increase its displacement for both LiNbO 3 and LiTaO 3 specimens.