Patent ID: 7259504

Claim:
A piezoelectric actuator, comprising: a stack of a plurality of individual piezoelectric actuator elements disposed between inner electrodes and selectively contracting and expanding along a main oscillation direction in dependence on an applied electric voltage; first and second metallization strips alternatingly connected with said inner electrodes; first and second outer electrodes respectively fixed to said first and second metallization strips for electrically contacting the piezoelectric actuator; said outer electrodes having at least one region configured for compensating for length variations of the piezoelectric actuator in a main oscillation direction by an elastic deformation thereof substantially exclusively in a plane parallel to the main oscillation direction, said outer electrodes having a comb-shaped profile with a meander-form conductor plate and contact teeth for contacting said metallization strips projecting from said conductor plate; and first and second connection elements respectively connected to said first and second outer electrodes for externally contacting the piezoelectric actuator.