November 14, 2013 -- Piezoelectric actuators and motors market is estimated to reach over 11 billion dollars in 2013. According to a recently published report from iRAP, Inc., ET119 - 'Piezoelectric Actuators and Motors - Types, Applications, New Developments, Industry Structure and Global Markets', the 2013 global market for piezoelectric operated actuators and motors was estimated to be $11.1 billion, and the market is estimated to reach $16 billion by 2018, showing an compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% per year.

A confluence of new piezo-based technology has breathed new capability into the nano- and micro-positioning world. Piezoelectric actuators convert electrical energy into a mechanical displacement or stress using a piezoelectric effect. Since piezoelectric elements have excellent responsiveness and conversion efficiency from electrical energy to mechanical energy, various types of piezoelectric actuators utilizing the piezoelectric effect of piezoelectric elements have been developed in recent years.

A piezoelectric actuator, which utilizes the piezoelectricity of crystal, has been used widely in a high precision positioning mechanism, since it can control a mechanical displacement at high speed. Piezoelectric actuators have the advantage of a high actuating precision and a fast reaction. Such actuators are components with a high electrical capacity, whereby only part of the electrical energy supplied to the actuators is converted to mechanical energy.

Piezoelectric actuators are widely used in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries, biology, optics, photonics, telecommunications, and metrology. Typical applications range from gene manipulation, vibration cancellation, fiber optic alignment, machine-tool alignment, and active damping, to hydraulic servo valves, shockwave generation, image stabilization, and wafer-mask alignment.

Piezoelectric actuators are developing into a large component market owing to high demand for ultra-small scale precision motion devices used in manufacturing and inspection equipment, high volume, low cost autofocus assemblies required in phone cameras, and high volume, moderate cost ink printing cartridges used in printers.  In addition, the demand for microactuator medical tools used in minimally invasive surgery and micro-grippers required in manufacturing microsized objects such as stents; as well as the demand for dynamically-driven, high temperature actuators for diesel injector valves in automobiles are pushing market growth and additional research and developments in the field.

This report also deals with ultrasonic motors (USMs) that belong to the class of piezoelectric motors. Due to their specific advantages compared to conventional electromagnetic motors, USMs fill a gap in certain actuator applications. A key advantage of USMs over electromagnetic motors is their compactness, i.e., their high stall torque-mass ratio and high torque at low rotational speed, often making speed-reducing gears superfluous.

This report also deals with miniature actuators based on thin-film piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which is one of the most efficient electromechanical coupling transducer materials currently available for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The report also looks into lead-free piezoelectric materials such as bismuth ferrite, BiFeO₃ (BFO), and others for construction of actuators used for medical applications. There is growing demand for lead-free piezoelectric actuators for medical applications. The report highlights ongoing research on alternative lead-free piezoelectric materials in order to replace lead-based materials to avoid health hazards.

The market for piezoelectric-operated actuators and motors in micron- to nanoscale (ultra-small scale precision motion) related applications will be the largest segment in 2013 and projected to grow with a CAGR of 7.6%, growing from $5,900 Million in 2013 to $8520 Million in 2018. The second big segment is autofocus mechanism (AFM) kits used in phone cameras and digital cameras, with a growth rate of 6.5% growing from $3,740 Million in 2013 to $4,900 Million in 2018 The third major segment includes microscope lenses autofocus and zoom mirror adjustment, image stabilization for ultra-precision imaging and resolution enhancement which is estimated to grow with a higher CAGR of 15.3% from $606 Million to $1,238 Million. The remaining is a market mix segment consisting of fuel injectors used in automotives, micropumps, piezo valves, microblowers, MEMS piezo actuators and similar products, estimated to have a growth rate of 7% for the period 2013-2018.

With regards to market according to industry, Industrial and manufacturing is still the largest application market for piezoelectric devices, followed by the automotive industry. However, the strongest demand comes from medical instruments and information and telecommunication, which are gaining ever increasing importance among piezoelectric device suppliers.

With regards to the market according to region, North America has the largest regional market share, followed by Europe, Japan and the balance for China and the rest of the world.

GLOBAL MARKET SIZE/PERCENTAGE SHARE FOR PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS AND MOTORS by application through 2018

Notes: These market numbers include dollar values of associated electronics (amplifiers, drivers, controllers, etc.) plus other mechanical hardware used in completing a piezo device assembly/kit so that it is in working mode.

Source: iRAP, Inc.

ILLUSTRATION OF global share for piezoelectric actuators and motors by application, 2013 and 2018

($ millions)

Source: iRAP, Inc.

More details of the report are available from Innovative Research and Products (iRAP), Inc., visit http://www.innoresearch.net/reportlist.aspx?cid=4 or contact at Tel: 203-569-7909, E-mail: Email Contact