摘要 |
A pre-stressed piezoelectric actuator is comprised of a plurality of layers. The layers include at least one electrically-active ceramic layer, a reinforcing substrate, and a top layer. Preferably, the top layer is comprised of a copper material having at least one lead integrally formed therewith, the lead being available for attaching the device to a voltage source. The copper layer further has a plurality of apertures defined therein to compensate for the stiffness of the copper and to allow the copper layer to deform. The layers are bonded by a thermally-activated adhesive. When the layers and adhesive are heated and cooled, the higher coefficients of thermal expansion in the substrate and top layers stresses the ceramic and causes the device to cool into an arcuate shape. |