IC Drives Piezoelectric Actuators

The L6660 IC drives piezoelectric actuators from a single 4.5V to 13.2V power supply. The device is aimed at dual servo hard-disk drive head positioning systems where a fine positioning piezoelectric actuator is mounted between the conventional voice-coil positioner and the head assembly. This approach is said to make it possible to increase the track density and drive capacity. In addition, it can be used to improve the performance of the drive, maintaining tracking in the presence of shocks and vibrations. Housed in a shrink SO-24 package, the chip also includes two high-voltage operational amplifiers with 0.4 to 24 nF driving capability and a -2.5V analog shifter, which allows it to be driven from a D/A converter with an output range of 0V to 5V. The piezoelectric actuator driver IC is priced at $3.20 each/10,000.