Sensors and Actuators A 154 (2009) 6972

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Magnetic ux memory effect using a magnetostrictive material-shape memory

piezoelectric actuator composite
Tomoya Ozaki, Hiroshi Hosaka, Takeshi Morita
Department of Human Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8563, Japan

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 22 July 2008
Received in revised form 4 March 2009
Accepted 12 April 2009
Available online 24 April 2009
Keywords:
Magnetostrictive material
Shape memory piezoelectric actuator
Composite
Imprint electrical eld
Memory effect

a b s t r a c t
A magnetostrictive-shape memory piezoelectric material composite is proposed to realize a magnet eld
memory effect. An imprint electrical eld enables a shape memory piezoelectric actuator, and the shape
memory effect maintains a certain permeability of the magnetostrictive materials. A new magnetic ux
memory effect is generated using a composite of the magnetostrictive-shape memory piezoelectric actuator and a permanent magnet. This magnetic ux memory effect can be operated with a pulsed voltage to
the shape memory piezoelectric actuator, so that no energy is consumed to maintain a certain magnetic
effect.
2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

1. Introduction
Ferroelectric materials have multifunctional properties, such as
piezoelectricity, large permittivity, nonvolatile charge and electrooptical functions. We have proposed to control the imprint
electrical eld in order to realize a memory effect of these properties [16]. Conventional piezoelectric actuators are driven with a
DC voltage to maintain certain positions. However, with the use of
imprint electrical eld control, a piezoelectric actuator can be operated with a pulse-shaped voltage, so that conventional piezoelectric
actuators can have a memory effect.
Magnetic actuators, such as stepping motors, voice coil motors
and solenoids are widely utilized in practical applications. Compared to piezoelectric actuators, magnetic actuators realize a
long stroke with a relative large output force. However, there
are difculties in miniaturizing magnetic actuators, due to their
complicated coil structure. Furthermore, the magnetic coils are
operated with current ow, which results in Joule heating problems, and high response is restricted due to impedance from
inductance. In recent years, magnetostrictive materials that have
giant magnetostriction (over 1000 ppm) have been produced,
such as Terfenol-D (Tbx Dy1x Fe2 ), and various application have
been investigated [79]. A voltage controllable mechanism was

Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 471364613.

E-mail addresses: morita@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp, SandA morita@ems.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp
(T. Morita).
0924-4247/$ see front matter 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.sna.2009.04.015

proposed by using this material with a piezoelectric material

and a permanent magnet material [10,11]. In these studies, the
shape change induced by the piezoelectric actuator is utilized
for change in the permeability of a magnetostrictive material.
The permeability change results in a magnetic ux density.
This principle has been applied to realize voltage control for
a magnetic ux density without coil; however, to maintain
a certain magnetic ux density, continuous voltage supply is
required.
In this study, a magnetostrictive material was adhered to a
piezoelectric actuator, similar to the previous research [10,11].
The magnetic permeability of the magnetostrictive material is
controllable depending on its strain condition. With a permanent magnet attached to a magnetostrictivepiezoelectric actuator
composite, the magnetic ux density can be controlled by the
voltage to the piezoelectric actuator. The advantage of this system is a coil-less structure, and voltage operation instead of
current operation. The innovative aspect of this study is to
apply a shape memory piezoelectric actuator to the system.
The shape memory piezoelectric actuator is fabricated with control of the imprint electrical eld, which enables the use of a
pulse-shaped voltage. By attaching the shape memory piezoelectric to a magnetostrictive material, the magnetic permeability
can be operated with a pulsed voltage and the memory effect
can be obtained without voltage input. The combination of
this composite with a permanent magnet is expected to result
in an innovative magnetic actuator with a magnetic memory
effect.

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T. Ozaki et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 154 (2009) 6972

Fig. 1. Principle of the memory effect induced by control of the imprint electrical eld.

2. Principle
2.1. Shape memory piezoelectric actuator
We have already demonstrated a shape memory piezoelectric
actuator that utilizes polarization reversal [15]. This approach
was quite different from that of conventional piezoelectric actuators. The piezoelectric actuator has a completely symmetric

buttery curve, due to the perfect reversal of its polarization,

and therefore, it does not have a memory effect. However,
with an imprint electrical eld, asymmetric buttery piezoelectric curves are observed [4,5]. The imprint electrical eld is an
internal electrical eld of ferroelectric materials, and is a wellknown phenomenon in the eld of ferroelectric thin lms [12,13].
The imprint electrical eld seems to be caused by several factors, such as trapped electrons or holes, lattice defects, lattice

Fig. 2. (a) Extension and (b) contraction modes of the composite model.

T. Ozaki et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 154 (2009) 6972

mismatching, etc., and the precise origin has yet to be claried.

As shown in Fig. 1, the DE hysteresis characteristics of ferroelectric materials shift to the direction of the electrical eld axis and
become asymmetric with the imprint electrical eld. This asymmetric feature causes memory effects, not only for the polarization,
but also for the piezoelectric strain, permittivity, optical properties,
and so on. With an asymmetric buttery curve, the shape memory
piezoelectric actuator has two different stable points of strain at the
point of 0 V, depending on its direction of polarization.
There are some important advantages of a shape memory piezoelectric actuator. For example, when a conventional piezoelectric
actuator is utilized for a mechanical relay switch, a continuous driving voltage is required to maintain the on or off conditions. In
this case, the energy consumption is not zero, because of the leak
current. Moreover, a conventional actuator requires a large DC voltage to maintain a certain position, so that large electric ampliers
are usually required, which consume electrical power.
In contrast, the shape memory piezoelectric actuator does not
require any voltages to maintain the on and off state, because
it has two stable positions without electrical input, depending on
its direction of polarization. When the switch mode is required to
change its state, it is realized by a pulsed voltage that reverses the
polarization of the shape memory piezoelectric actuator. After this
operation is performed, no electrical eld is needed; therefore, the
energy consumption to maintain the piezoelectric displacement is
zero.
Another advantage of a shape memory piezoelectric actuator
is low voltage operation with a combination of a small voltage
source, capacitors and transformers. Usually, the voltage required
to reverse the polarization is larger than that required to drive
a conventional piezoelectric actuator. However, after accumulation of the charge to the capacitor, the charge can then be used
for operation of the shape memory piezoelectric actuator through
a transformer as a pulse-shaped voltage. Therefore, it is possible to operate a shape memory piezoelectric actuator at low
voltage.
2.2. Magnetic ux density memory effect
Magnetostrictive materials are functional materials with magnetic permeability controlled by its strain condition. In the
proposed device, the magnetostrictive material is adhered to the
shape memory piezoelectric actuator, and the mechanical strain is
controlled using the piezoelectric shape memory (Fig. 2). With the
addition of a permanent magnet, the magnetic ux density can be
controlled as a function of the permeability of the magnetostrictive
material.
The proposed system is operated with a pulsed voltage, which
is different to that of conventional magnetic devices, so that it is
free from Joule heating problems. In addition, the simple coil-less
structure is advantageous for miniaturization purposes.

71

Fig. 3. Experimental setup.

ing electrode at 150 C for 5 h in an electric oven (Yamato Co.,

Ltd., DKN302). This method was determined by reference to Kims
paper [14]. Control of the imprint electrical eld was induced,
so that the polarization direction of PZT was opposite on each
side. The shape memory piezoelectric material and the Terfenol-D
magnetostrictive material (Etrema Products Inc., Tb0.3 Dy0.7 Fe1.92 ,
1 mm 30 mm 5 mm) were attached using an epoxide-based
adhesive to form a composite structure.
The magnetic circuit was composed of a permanent magnet (NdBFe, 0.25 T), silicon steel, a Hall-effect sensor (Toshiba,
THS119) and the composite. The magnetic ux density was detected
using the Hall-effect sensor (Fig. 3), to examine the possibility of
maintaining a magnetic ux density memory. The operating voltage was applied from a function generator (NF Co., Ltd., WF1946)
through a voltage amplier (NF Co., Ltd., 4010). To realize only longitudinal direction and prevent bending, different amplitude driving
voltages were applied to each side of the shape memory actuator.
One end of the composite actuator was clamped and its piezoelectric displacement in the longitudinal direction was measured using
a laser displacement sensor (Canon Co., Ltd., DS-80).

3. Experiment
3.1. Fabrication process of the magnetostrictivepiezoelectric
composite
A multilayered lead zirconate titanate (PZT) bimorph type actuator (Nihon Ceratec Co., Ltd., PAB4010), which had three layers
on one side, was used for the experiments. The dimensions of
the piezoelectric actuator were 0.55 mm 40 mm 10 mm, and the
thickness of each PZT layer was 0.08 mm.
To apply the memory effect, an imprint electrical eld was
induced to the actuator with a 280 V DC voltage to the driv-

Fig. 4. Relationship between piezoelectric displacement and the variation in

magnetic ux density with voltage applied to the adhered side.

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T. Ozaki et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 154 (2009) 6972

5. Conclusions
A composite comprised of a shape memory piezoelectric actuator attached to a magnetostrictive material was proposed to obtain a
magnetic permeability memory effect. The memory effect realizes a
magnetic ux density using a permanent magnet. The system was
successfully operated under a pulsed voltage. In contrast to conventional magnetic devices, the principle of the proposed device
enables operation with a pulsed voltage, eliminating Joule heating
problems. The simple coil-less structure is one of the advantages
for miniaturization. Optimization of the magnetic circuit is ongoing, with an aim to maintain a larger magnetic ux density memory
for practical applications.
Acknowledgements

Fig. 5. Change in the magnetic ux density driven using a pulsed voltage.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Relationship between piezoelectric displacement and
magnetic ux density
A triangular voltage of 130 Vpp at 1 Hz was applied to one electrode (adhered side) of the shape memory piezoelectric material. A
30 Vpp voltage of the same phase was applied to the opposite side
(reverse side).
The piezoelectric buttery curve and change in magnetic ux
density are shown in Fig. 4. The voltage applied to the reverse side
is not shown in the gure. The piezoelectric strain displayed an
asymmetric curve, and the change in magnetic ux density had two
distinct values at 0 V. The memory value of strain was conrmed as
1.5 m, and that for the magnetic ux density was 0.5 mT.
4.2. Magnetic ux density memory effect by pulse voltage
operation
The magnetic ux density memory was controlled using the
pulse voltage driven composite. Positive and negative pulse voltages
of 65 Vop (pulse width: 100 ms) at 0.25 Hz were alternately applied
to the adhered side of the shape memory piezoelectric actuator, and
synchronous voltage of 15 Vop (pulse width: 100 ms) was applied
to the reverse side. The magnetic ux density results are shown
in Fig. 5. The shape memory composite displayed two distinct stable values depending on the polarization direction. When the pulse
voltage was applied, the direction of length was transformed by
2 m (Fig. 5). The magnetic ux density was operated using the
change in the permeability of the magnetostrictive material. The
memory value of the magnetic ux density was 0.5 mT, as shown in
Fig. 5. This value corresponds to the value of the asymmetric buttery curve at 0 V, as shown in Fig. 4. From these experiments, the
expected memory effect was conrmed, and at 0 V, the magnetic
ux density memory maintained a stable value. Up to the present
experiment, the amount of the memory effect did not vary greatly
with elapsed time and the number of the applied pulsed voltage.
It was conrmed that the shape memory piezoelectric actuator
maintained a certain amount of the memory effect after 104 pulsed
operation at least [15].

The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Ueno and Prof.

Higuchi from the University of Tokyo for fruitful discussions. This
research was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology through a Grant-in-Aid for
Scientic Research on Priority Areas, No. 438, Next Generation
Actuators Leading Breakthroughs, and also by the Murata Science
Foundation, the Futaba Electrons Memorial Foundation and Japan
Chemical Innovation Institute.
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