Performance comparison of two motion modes of a piezoelectric inertial linear motor and its potential application in cell manipulation

The piezoelectric inertial linear motor (PILM) has great application potential in cell manip-ulation, location of artificial neural electrode, and other micro-operation fields for its advantages of fast response, long stroke, and high resolution. However, the traditional schemes have been challenging to avoid the phenomenon of backward motion, which may lead to motion instability and failure of positioning in cell manipulation. To solve this problem, a novel PILM with two motion modes is proposed. In this study, through in-depth analysis of stepping characteristics, the reason why the motor with the traditional forward-backward motion mode is difficult to eliminate the backward motion phe-nomenon by adjusting the friction force in experiments is revealed. Then, a series of per-formance evaluation and cell manipulation simulation experiments are carried out. Experimental results indicate that the novel forward-forward motion mode can solve the backward motion problem and has the advantages of the speed, efficiency, and stability of the system, while the forward-backward motion mode has the advantages of resolu-tion and carrying capacity. Moreover, the proposed motor can switch between the two motion modes freely according to the different requirements of the application environ-ment for obtaining the required specific performance. Based on the above advantages and the successful drug injection simulation process in a zebrafish embryo, the proposed motor has great application potential in cell manipulation and other micromanipulation fields. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The novel PILM with two motion modes solves the backward motion issue with the forward-forward motion mode, offering advantages in terms of speed, efficiency, and system stability.