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

Abstract The piezoelectric inertial linear motor (PILM) has great application potential in cell manipulation, 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 phenomenon by adjusting the friction force in experiments is revealed. Then, a series of performance 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 resolution and carrying capacity. Moreover, the proposed motor can switch between the two motion modes freely according to the different requirements of the application environment 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.