ABSTRACT

This chapter presents a variety of actuator mechanisms that are capable of operating at the nanometre level. Each mechanism is discussed in terms of its relative merits such as dynamic response, repeatability, size, linearity and cost. The actuator principles discussed in the main section are, in order; piezoelectric, electrostrictive, mechanical micrometers, friction drives, magnetostriction, magnetoelasticity, shape memory alloys and bimetallic strips, electromagnetic, electrostatic, hydraulic and the Poisson’s ratio drive. For convenient reference, there follows a much briefer summary of them to clarify individual advantages and to highlight the reasons for choosing between different mechanisms. Finally some comments about the relative performance of micro-displacement sensor technologies are given.