Bimorph
Encyclopedia
A bimorph is a cantilever that consists of two active layers: piezoelectric and metal
. These layers produce a displacement via:
A piezoelectric unimorph has one active (i.e. piezoelectric) layer and one inactive (i.e. non-piezoelectric) layer.
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
. These layers produce a displacement via:
- thermal activation (a temperature change causes one layer to expand more than the other).
- electrical activation as in a piezoelectric bimorph (electric field causes one layer to extend and the other layer to contract).
A piezoelectric unimorph has one active (i.e. piezoelectric) layer and one inactive (i.e. non-piezoelectric) layer.