Laser machining of electroactive ceramics
First Claim
1. A method of producing an electromechanical device, comprising:
- poling the electroactive ceramic;
laser machining the electroactive ceramic to form a desired shape, including machining grooves into a surface of the electroactive ceramic; and
incorporating the electroactive ceramic into an electromechanical sensor or actuator.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Laser beam machining is applied to form arbitrarily shaped electroactive ceramics for transducers (e.g., electromechanical sensors and actuators). One particularly preferred embodiment of the invention comprises machining parallel grooves in a ceramic plate to improve flexibility. The grooves provide strain relief in bending by relieving Poisson strains transverse to the direction of bending. This embodiment offers the further benefit that planar anisotropy or directionality is introduced in the transducer. The machining process of the invention further enables the production of more complex geometries than those currently known in the art. Because of the flexibility of the machining process, virtually any desired transducer shape may be produced.
49 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A method of producing an electromechanical device, comprising:
-
poling the electroactive ceramic;
laser machining the electroactive ceramic to form a desired shape, including machining grooves into a surface of the electroactive ceramic; and
incorporating the electroactive ceramic into an electromechanical sensor or actuator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
after machining and prior to incorporating the electroactive ceramic into a sensor or actuator, deforming the electroactive ceramic into a substantially three-dimensional shape.
-
Specification