A scale-up prototype of PZT thin-film actuators for scanning endoscopes

This paper presents a feasibility study of using PZT thin-film actuators to power future scanning endoscopes. The feasibility study includes fabrication, instrumentation, and finite element analysis of a scale-up prototype PZT thin-film actuator whose dimensions are 14 mm by 14 mm. In the prototype, a 1 μm thick PZT thin film along with its top and bottom electrodes are deposited on a 100-μm thick silicon diaphragm suspension. A laser Doppler vibrometer is used to measure frequency response functions of the prototype to identify the actuator´s gain and bandwidth. Modal analysis is performed to measure vibration mode shapes of the prototypes. Finally, a finite element analysis accurately predicts the measured gain, mode shapes, and natural frequencies by taking into the account of proper boundary conditions.