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PIEZO4HAPTIC

Published on 30 July 2020


Automated feedback from ultra-thin piezoelectric actuators 

 What's Piezo4Haptic?

  • A haptic interface is a new type of man-machine interface, which allows the user to interact with the environment using his/her sense of touch.
  • Integrated piezoelectric actuators make the demonstrator screen vibrate imperceptibly based on a vibration mode of several tens of kHz. Vibration allows the user to feel complex haptic effects such as texturing or relief.
  • The piezoelectric actuators are composed of 2µm thick, aluminum nitride (AIN) deposited in ultra-thin layers.  


 Application

All man-machine interfaces can be potentially enhanced by introducing a haptic effect. For example:
  • Haptic smartphone
  • Textile technology: virtually touching a garment on internet on a computer screen
  • Automotive technology: introducing haptic buttons to car dashboards.

 What's new?

  • Most demonstrators involving friction modulation use piezoelectric ceramics, which need to be glued manually to the screen. CEA-Leti is leveraging its 200mm technological platform to deposit and etch actuators based on collective technologies, thereby ensuring time savings and low costs. 
  • The Institute is also offering a miniaturized solution via its ultra-thin piezoelectric actuators smaller than 3µm versus 100 µm for current commercial ceramic actuators. CEA-Leti's thin layer actuators require only small actuation voltages, which also allow better integration.

   CES 2020

  • Grenoble-based start-up Hap2U introduced a haptic smartphone, based on the same haptic friction modulation effect used in CEA-Leti's demonstrator

 What's next?

  • CEA-Leti is developing other actuator integration strategies, in particular CHIP-IN-FLEX, a technology allowing integration of piezoelectric actuators into a flexible substrate. CHIP-IN-FLEX will enable the haptic effect to be applied to curved and conformable surfaces by increasing actuating performance.
  • The Institute is concurrently working on development of technology that is capable of making piezoelectric actuators completely transparent.


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