TDK and Boréas collaborate to accelerate adoption of piezoelectric haptic solutions

The Piezoelectric and Protection Components Business Department has been very active recently, and today the editor brings you a new piece of news.

TDK Corporation announced that its subsidiary TDK Electronics and Boréas Technologies, a developer of ultra-low power tactile technology, have signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate the application of piezoelectric tactile solutions. According to the agreement, the two parties will work together to design and promote TDK PowerHap™ and PiezoHapt™ series piezoelectric actuator touch feedback solutions combined with Boréas' piezoelectric tactile drive technology. It is worth mentioning that TDK and Boréas will develop demonstrators of tactile effects and drivers specifically for high-definition piezoelectric tactile systems, and plan to promote their application worldwide. This will help global customers implement advanced tactile solutions using high-performance actuators in different applications, including smartphones and tablets, automotive displays and control systems, wearable devices, game consoles, industrial equipment, medical equipment, etc.

One of the most important areas is mobile applications. Until now, piezo haptic solutions have not been popular in these applications due to the high power consumption and large size of piezo drivers. Now, solutions based on TDK and Boréas technology break this barrier, helping to promote advanced piezo haptic technology and create the next generation of user interfaces.

“The collaboration with Boréas Technologies is a further step in our efforts to expand our market reach to customers who are looking for technologically superior haptic solutions,” said Dr. Georg Kuegerl, CTO of TDK’s Piezo and Protection Devices business unit. “In particular, Boréas’ specialized drivers for our wide range of piezo actuators are expected to bring many advantages to these customers.”

“Our collaboration with TDK allows us to leverage their global sales and marketing network to accelerate the adoption of piezo haptic solutions worldwide,” said Simon Chaput, CEO of Boréas Technologies. “In addition, our partnership allows us to integrate TDK piezo actuators on Boréas driver ICs, significantly reducing the engineering required to implement piezo haptic solutions and helping customers get to market faster.”

Boréas Technologies has developed the BOS1901, a miniature and energy-efficient piezoelectric driver IC using its patented CapDrive™ technology. Operating at voltages up to 60 V, it not only offers advanced sensing capabilities but is also a perfect match for PowerHap actuators. The driver is also currently available in a TDK evaluation kit, which designers can use to develop high-performance touch response solutions. Next, Boréas will develop the first low-power piezoelectric driver IC for an important customer of the PowerHap family, with a maximum drive voltage of up to 120 V. With these two driver ICs, customers can expect to create an ideal solution using the entire PowerHap product range.

TDK's PowerHap piezo actuators offer unprecedented haptic feedback quality with unmatched performance in terms of acceleration, force and response time. The PowerHap product family excels in miniaturization with overall dimensions of just 9 mm x 3.75 mm x 1.4 mm (0904H014V060) and a maximum operating voltage of 60 V. On the other hand, the 6005H090V120 is a new member of the PowerHap product family under development with dimensions of 60 mm x 5.0 mm x 9.0 mm and a maximum operating voltage of 120 V. PiezoHapt™ actuators have extremely short response times and can be driven with a low voltage of 12 V or 24 V, depending on the model. They are designed as a single piezoelectric chip and consist of a multilayer piezoelectric element bonded to one side of a vibration plate. At just 0.35 mm thick, the new haptic actuators are among the thinnest haptic devices in the world.