Characteristics of piezoelectric cantilevers embedded in LTCC

Accurate modelling is required for the effective utilization and optimization of embedded functional materials and structures. In this study, piezoelectric cantilevers with passive low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) and steel layers were modelled and manufactured. The displacement performance of the actuators was studied utilizing FEM models created with ATILA software. Commercial piezoceramic PZ29 was used for the actuators with an active size of 17 mm × 5 mm × 0.25 mm. The displacement characteristics of the actuators with different electric fields and passive layer thicknesses were measured. Both manufactured actuator types exhibited high effective d31 piezoelectric coefficients and large displacements e.g., ∼120 μm under ±0.35 V/μm electric field. The influence of the LTCC process and modelling parameters for the piezoelectric material were characterised for the further utilization of embedded actuators in the ceramic circuit board.