Micro-manipulator using laminate hinge mechanism

The purpose of our research work is to develop a multifunctional piezoelectric actuation mechanism for micro-manipulator using 3 degree of freedom actuation plate and expansion plate which its expansion rate and its character frequency can be adjusted by the number of the laminated hinge mechanism. It is important to downsizing of actuation mechanism along with the miniaturization of electronic circuit devices, moreover the making to high accuracy and integration of the actuator are also needed. The expansion mechanism is made by thin metal plates which have hinge mechanism. The expansion rate can be controlled by the number of the expansion plates. The expansion mechanism is small and useful to make micro-manipulator which can be set up on a microscope stage. This report shows a principle of the hinge mechanism, systems of micro-manipulator and result of the manipulation experiment.