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Beam steering mirrors: from space applications to optronic applications
19 June 2023
Fast growing Laser and new optic applications drive more and more needs for beam steering mirrors (BSM) and Fast Steering Mirror (FSM). For space optic instruments, CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES has developed for 20 years several piezoelectric tip-tilt mechanisms. Presented recent examples include the ATLID BSA small tit tilt for quasi static nano pointing and MEFISTO, a large tit tilt for fast micro positioning. These space mechanisms perform high precision functions while being compact, lightweight and resistant to external vibrations and shocks. As shown in the paper, these advantages allow these technologies addressing several needs for other optronic applications than space, such as active stabilisation, micro scanning, disturbance compensation in IR imagers or telescopes.
Benefits from amplification of piezo actuation in inertial stepping motors
19 June 2023
Stepping Piezo Actuators (SPA) are long stroke linear piezoelectric actuators capable to reach long stroke (typ. >10mm) with an important resolution (typ. <1nm). It has been proposed to use Amplified Piezo Actuator into inertial stepper motor to build the SPA. This piezo motor showed good behaviour, with relatively high speed (up to 70mm/s), force (from 0.2N to 20N) and low consumption (down to 700mW).
Bistable micro actuator for energy saving
19 June 2023
The article describes a linear magnetic flip-flop micro actuator, designed with FLUX software, assembled and characterised for a specific application requiring low losses at function states. The micro size allows reducing the energy required for actuation. Permanent magnets ensure bistability and suppress losses at functional states. Although the actuator is less than 1 g, the blocking force is about 0.1N and the stroke is 0.6mm. Firstly, the paper describes the main functionality of the actuator. Then are presented measured characteristics and results are compared with FLUX software computation. Finally perspectives of further miniaturisation are discussed.
A bistable piezoelectric harvester for wideband mechanical frequency excitation
19 June 2023
The developments of autonomous systems such as for self health monitoring, embedded systems are increasingly used in industrial applications. The energy supply is a key point for the development of such systems. Solutions based on battery have limited life time and the power supplies through wires aren’t always appropriate and easy to install. Furthermore, the battery recycling is complex and an expensive process. The researches on power supply through harvesting systems are increasing in the same way the autonomous systems.
A new amplified piezoelectric actuator for precise positioning and active damping
19 June 2023
Two typical characteristics of direct piezoelectric actuators are displacements of ten micrometers and high stiffnesses. recently, multilayers actuators have been improved, and they now display strains of approximately 1200ppm at low excitation levels (less than two hundred volts). Thus, they are well suited to perform precise positioning of optical devices. But for industrial needs, this performances is still insufficient for positioning devices with larger displacements (in the range of several hundred micrometers).
A new Rotating Voice Coil Motor for Meteosat Third Generation satellites
19 June 2023
In the frame of the Meteosat Third Generation project (MTG), the future European Operational Geostationary Meteorological Satellites system, Cedrat Technologies has developed a dedicated actuator for the Scan Assembly mechanism (SCA) made by SENER. Such motors are needed to actuate the SCA on the north/south (N/S) and east/west (E/W) axes. The requirement of precise pointing of the SCA induces very specific characteristics for the motorisation. The motor needed characteristics are: to be free from any cogging, high constant motor [N.m/vW] to have a constant torque over full stroke range, to have a very low hysteresis and to have redundant coils. To meet these stringent requirements, the choice was made to develop a specific Rotating Voice Coil Motor.
