Basic Study of Controlling Piezoelectric Motion of Chiral Polymeric Fiber

We studied a novel technique for electrically controlling the piezoelectric motion of the fiber of poly-(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), which is a type of chiral polymer. A PLLA fiber (30 mu m diameter) drawn seven times with a piezoelectric constant of 25 pC/N was prepared. First, it was reported that a bending motion due to the shear piezoelectricity of the PLLA fiber can be basically controlled by applying an electric field. Then, it was found that the targeting piezoelectric actuator that we used to study the tip motion of the free end of PLLA fibers whose other end was fixed, could be moved in a zig-zag pattern on a straight line, and/or along an ellipsoidal orbit, by the application of an electric field.