In this paper, we proposed a pick-up actuator that has a small size, mass,
and high resonant frequencies. In order to reduce the mass of the moving pa
rt, the proposed actuator has only a pair of permanent magnets. The high re
sonant frequencies of the actuator are confirmed by FEM analysis. Also, we
investigated an optimum design method to minimize the seek times of the act
uator. This method uses the time optimal technique to minimize the seek tim
e, with the characteristic values of 2-axis actuators as the constraints. S
imulation results show that this method can reduce the seek time to less th
an that of the conventional method which maximizes the acceleration of the
actuator. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.