Ultra-Low-Inertia NanoPositioning Systems

	PI has more experience designing, manufacturing and supporting piezo based ultra-low-inertia NanoPositioning systems than any other company in the world. In the last 30 years we have delivered tens of thousands of standard and custom systems to OEM and research. To satisfy the needs of our customers, we often had to come up with revolutionary solutions in manufacturing and control technology.  Engineers at PI were used to thinking and designing in terms of "nanometers" long before Nano-Technology became a buzzword. Read on for details, or go directly to the  NanoPositioner Selection Guide  click here Custom NanoPositioning Solutions click here Ultra-Low-Inertia NanoPositioning Variety of Single and Multi-Axis Piezo NanoPositioning Stages. PI offers the largest variety of custom and standard ultra-low inertia NanoPositioning Solutions.    Examples of Parallel-Kinematics NanoPositioning Systems  P-500 Series Stages (XY, XYZ, XY-Theta-Z, Z-Tip-Tilt). Capacitive Feedback, Clear Aperture.  P-587 6-DOF NanoPositioning Stage.  Most Advanced Nanopositioning Stage.  Travel to 800 µm and 1 mrad.  P-733 XY NanoPositioning Stage. Capacitive Feedback, Clear Aperture.  P-734 Ultra-High Flatness XY NanoPositioning Stage. Capacitive Feedback, Clear Aperture.  Variety of Custom NanoPositioning Stages  NEW: PIHera  Low-Cost, Ultra-Long-Range PZT NanoPositioning Stages (up to 600 µm) Ultra-Low-Inertia NanoPositioning Systems, Ultra-High Precision Position Sensors Ultra-low-inertia solid-state PZT nanopositioning stages can repeatedly move bidirectional nanometer level steps, at up to hundreds of Hz if required.  Two plate capacitive position sensors ensure highest linearity and longterm stability.  These absolute-measuring, non-contact  sensors detect motion at sub-nanometer levels directly (direct output metrology) and provide accuracy, linearity, resolution, stability and bandwidth superior to strain gauge type sensors (piezo resistive sensors), LVDT sensors and incremental encoders (glass scale type encoders).  If used in parallel-kinematics multi-axis systems, they can also provide the information for automatic runout-compensation. Minimized recoil forces are a by-product of the ultra-low-inertia approach.  Classical Micropositioning stages, even when equipped with high-resolution encoders cannot achieve this precision.  Their high inertia, friction, and servo dither prevent fast motion at the nanometer level. Click here for more information on PI Capacitive Position Sensors  Vibration Elimination The example above shows ringing of a poorly damped component on a high-speed NanoPositioning stage.  While the closed-loop NanoPositioning stage settles perfectly, the component cannot keep up. Conventional solutions to this problem would involve slowing down the NanoPositioning stage.  Mach™ eliminates ringing without sacrificing speed.  It does not even require retuning of the servo system. Mach™ Throughput Processor Eliminates Self-Generated Vibration, Increases Troughput, Scanning Speed, Accuracy.  The exclusive Mach™ Throughput Processor™ eliminates resonant ringing, allowing rapid motion without a settling phase. This technique also eliminates resonances excited in neighboring components, outside the nanopositioning system's servo loop.  The result is significantly increased throughput.  Self-generated vibration affects: The load and fixturing that the nanopositioner actuates,  The supporting structure on which the nanopositioner is mounted, and All other components attached to the supporting structure. The example above shows vibrations induced at the beginning of a saw-tooth scan, typical in image acquisition applications. The vibration results in lower image quality.  Mach™ improves the image quailtiy; there is no need to reduce the scanning frequency or chang the mechanical components in the system. Mach™ is available as a firmware option for several PI Digital Piezo Controllers and also as an upgrade option for analog controllers. If you need to achieve nanometer precision faster, request our tech note on Mach™ and talk to a PI Application Engineer: This technology is protected by one or more of the following US and foreign Patents licensed from Convolve, Inc.: US 4,916,635; US 5,638,267; 0433375 Europe; 067152 Korea, and other Patents pending.  Mach™, Throughput Coprocessor™ and NanoAutomation® are trademarks of Polytec PI, Inc.  Input Shaping™ is a trademark of Convolve, Inc. Trajectory Control Active Trajectory Control. Active Trajectory Control is available on single-module parallel-kinematics nanopositioning systems. It improves straightness and flatness to sub-nanometer precision. Digital controllers with advanced coordinate transformation algorithms allow active trajectory control for up to 6 DoF.  If you need ultra-precise motion, straighter or flatter, request our tech note and talk to a PI application Engineer Preshaping Adaptive Preshaping/ Digital Dynamic Linearization Preshaping™ algorithms and digital dynamic linearization algorithms can increase the linearity and effective bandwidth of high-speed nanopositioning systems by up to 10,000%.  This translates into higher dynamic accuracy, and increased throughput.  Applications range from out-of-round machining (pistons, contactlenses, optics) to scanning microscopy. If you need higher linearity in dynamic nanometer-level motion systems,  request our technote and talk to a PI Application Engineer Flexures Flexure Technology Flexures, if designed properly, are very stiff & robust, light weight, maintenance free, and provide nanometer to sub-nanometer-level guiding precision (simple designs induce cosine runout errors). They are frictionless and do neither require lubricants nor air films.        Not all flexures are created equal! PI multi-axis NanoPositioning systems are based on wire-EDM-cut parallel-kinematics  designs.   Pro: Simple.  Con:  Slower response (lower stage carries inertial mass of upper stage); Non-symmetric resonant frequencies (lower stage is slower than upper stage, requires different servo settings). Orthogonality error is mounting-angle dependant. Runout in Y cannot be monitored/compensated by the sensor in the X stage or vice versa. A) Stacking 2 single-axis stages .  Better response than A) but still non-symmetric and X and Y work without "knowledge" of each other. B) Single-module (monolithic) but nested (serial) X and Y. Best solution.    Same ultra-low inertia for X and Y motion, providing higher responsiveness and axis-independent performance.  Excellent, mounting independent orthogonality.  Reduced runout: X sensor (PI uses non-contact, two-plate capacitance sensors) can monitor and correct for Y runout and vice versa.  Additional rotation axis (Theta z ) feasible with 3 actuators / sensors and digital controller. C) Single-module parallel-kinematics X and Y (with crosstalk compensation). Click here for the NanoPositioner Selection Guide on the PI Website Click here for Custom NanoPositioning Solutions on the PI Website
	PI solutions have enabled customers in the following industries to achieve higher precision, faster:  Semiconductor Test & Measurement  Photonics Packaging  Optics / Fiber Optics Medical Analytical Equipment  Life Science Mass Storage Industry (Disk Drive)  Laser Systems  Precision Tool Machinery  Aerospace Engineering  PI Strengths Our Mission: To Make the Best Performing NanoPositioning Systems (not Datasheets with the Best Published Specs)  30+ years of NanoPositioning Experience  10,000s of NanoPositioning Systems in the Field ISO 9001 Quality System (Certified since 1994), Kanban Demand Workflow and Kaizen Continous Improvement Processes Guarantee Repeatable Quality & Reliability  Global Service Support  In-house Mechanics, Piezo Ceramics, & Control Electronics Manufacturing  Very Strong R&D Department  World-Class Million-$ Nano-Metrology lab for Evaluation of ultra-high Precision Technologies Financially Strong, Privately Held Compay with 500+ Employees Worldwide   Talk to one of our PI Application Engineers  and benefit from our experience! Call:  508-832-3456 (EAST) 714-850-1835 (WEST) PI USA Home Page · Request Literature · Find the Nearest PI Office Piezoelectric Actuators ·Piezoelectric Materials · Capacitive Sensors · Piezo Flexure Nano-Stages · Micropositioners · Hexapod

 
 
 

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