For precision closed-loop motion control down to picometers: Ultra-Precision piezo stage systems, nanopositioning stages and nano-actuators from PI.

More on Nanopositioning Stages

PI is the global leader in piezoelectric nanopositioning and scanning systems. PI offers the greatest variety of standard systems as well as custom tailored solutions. PI Nanopositioning and scanning systems with frictionless flexure guidance are decidedly superior to positioners with conventional guiding systems in terms of resolution, reproducibility, straightness and flatness.

How to select the right nanopositioning stage?

Why Flexures? Flexure motion is based on the elastic deformation (flexing) of a solid material. Friction and stiction are entirely eliminated, and flexures exhibit high stiffness, load capacity and resistance to shock and vibration. Flexures are maintenance free and not subject to wear. They are vacuum compatible, operate over a wide temperature range and require neither lubricants nor compressed air for operation.

NanoAutomation: PI piezo stages are ideal for nano-automation applications, where nanometer precision in milliseconds is important.

More on NanoAutomation:

Excellent Guiding Accuracy The multilink flexure guiding systems employed in most PI piezo nanopositioners (Fig. 2) eliminate cosine errors and provide bidirectional flatness and straightness in the nanometer or microradian range. This high precision means that even the most demanding positioning tasks can be run bidirectionally for higher throughput.

Lifetime / PICMA® Piezo Actuators PI nanopositioning systems employ the award-winning PICMA® piezo actuators, the only actuators with cofired ceramic encapsulation. The PIMCA® piezo technology was specifically developed by PI's piezoceramic division to provide higher performance and lifetime in nanopositioning applications. Multilayer piezo actuators are similar to ceramic capacitors and are not affected by wear and tear. PI nanopositioning systems are designed to be driven at lower voltages than most other piezo systems (100 V vs. 150 V). The research literature, PI's own test data and 30+ years of experience all confirm that lower average electric fields, lead to longer lifetime.

More on Nanopositioners:

PI Wins Photonics Circle of Excellence Award for Ceramic-Encapsulated Multilayer Piezoelectric Precision Linear Actuator during 2005 Photonics West

PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. was honored with the Photonics Circle of Excellence Award at a dinner in San Jose, California, during 2005 Photonics West.

PI received the award for its innovative PICMA® nanopositioning actuators, the worlds first all-ceramic multilayer piezo linear actuator technology. PICMA®s novel cofired ceramic encapsulation resists humidity orders of magnitude better than traditional polymer coatings. Inherently vacuum-compatible, its flat, hard surface is ideal for sensors. PIs blank-sheet approach optimizes stiffness, capacitance, thermal dynamics, electrode configuration and other parameters. Consequently, PICMA® piezoelectric technology improves performance and reliability in all environments and is measurably superior in high-duty/high-endurance situations. Increased Curie temperature of 320°C facilitates operation in hotter environments with higher dynamics.

PICMA® is now offered to OEMs and is the foundation for PIs fast nanopositioners and optic mounts, benefiting applications throughout semiconductors, data storage, photonics, microscopy, life sciences, aerospace and other high-tech fields.

The Photonics Circle of Excellence Award is bestowed annually on the 25 most technically innovative new products of the year, based upon a peer review by members of the Photonics Spectra Magazine editorial advisory board, a panel of recognized experts in the industry.

More on the 10 year Life Time Testing Report on of PICMA linear piezo actuators:

More information on piezo actuators and piezo drives

Compact Piezo Z-Stages with Aperture for Precision NanoFocussing Applications

• 100 µm Travel Range
• Small Footprint: 60 x 60 mm
• Resolution to 0.2 nm
• For Cost-Sensitive Applications
• Clear Aperture: 20 x 20 mm
• PICMA® High-Performance Piezo Actuators

These elevation stages are cost-effective, compact, piezo-based positioning systems with travel ranges of 100 µm. The space-saving design features a footprint of only 60 x 60 mm. The 20 x 20 mm clear aperture makes them ideally suited for sample positioning in microscopy. Thanks to PICMA® piezo actuator drives and frictionless flexure guidance, they provide response times of a few milliseconds and resolutions in the nanometer range

Other Z-Stages:

• P-541.T0L Low-Profile Piezo-Z Tip/Tilt Stage, open Loop,100µm
• P-541.TCD, Low-Profile Piezo-Z, Tip/Tilt Stage Cap.Sensor,100µm
• P-541.TSL, Low-Profile Piezo-Z Tip/Tilt Stage with SGS,100µm
• P-541.Z0L, Low-Profile Piezo-Z Nanopositioning Stage, 100µm, Open-Loop, Lemo Connector

• P-541.ZCD, Low-Profile Piezo-Z Nanopositioning Stage, 100µm, Cap. Sensors, Sub-D Connector
• P-541.ZCL, Low-Profile Piezo-Z Nanopositioning Stage, 100µm, Cap. Sensors, Lemo Connectors
• P-541.ZSL, Low-Profile Piezo-Z Nanopositioning Stage, 100µm, Strain Gauge Sensors, Lemo Connector

• P-558.TCD, Piezo-Z, Tip/Tilt Nanopositioning Stage, 50µm, 1mrad, Parallel Direct Metrology, for Digital Controller
• P-558.ZCD, Piezo-Z Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 50µm, Capacitive Direct Metrology, for Digital Controller
• P-518.TCD, Piezo-Z Tip/Tilt Nanopositioning/Scanning Stage, 100µm, 2mrad, Parallel Direct Metrology, for Digital Controller

• P-518.ZCD, Piezo-Z Nanopositioning/Scanning Stage, 100µm, Capacitive Direct Metrology

• P-528.TCD, Piezo-Z, Tip/Tilt Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 200µm, 2mrad, Parallel Direct Metrology, Digital

• P-528.ZCD, Piezo-Z Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 200µm, Capacitive Direct Metrology
• P-622.ZCD, PIHera™ Piezo-Z Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 250µm, Capacitive Direct Metrology, Sub-D
• P-733.3DD, High-Speed XY, Z-Piezo Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 30x30x10µm, Parallel Direct Metrology, 2.2 kHz F-res
• P-563.3CD, PIMars™ XY, Z-Piezo Nanopositioner/Scanning Stage, 300x300x300µm, Parallel Direct Metrology, Sub-D

for more information go to http://www.nanopositioners.com

PI manufactures the largest selection of

• piezo drivers,
• piezo power suppliers
• high-voltage linear amplifiers
• PCI Piezo Controllers

for piezoelectric nanopositioning linear stages actuators and piezo systems.

The new E-761 PCI Piezo Controller is the world's first closed -loop digital piezo controller on a PCI Board.

More on Piezo Drivers:
>>OEM Piezo Driver

>>PCI Board Piezo Controller

Electronics play a key role for maximum performance of piezoelectric NanoAutomation® systems (such as PZT translators) and piezo-driven NanoPositioning systems (such as Flexure NanoPositioners or PZT tip/tilt platforms). Ultra-low-noise, high-stability servo-controllers and amplifiers are essential because even micro-volt changes of the control voltage are transformed into motion.

Ultra-low-noise, high-stability servo-controllers and amplifiers are essential because even micro-volt changes of the control voltage are transformed into motion.

For applications, where maximum throughput is crucial, PI's digital feedforward techniques and highspeed interfaces speed up manufacturing processes. For dynamic high-power applications, our energy-recovery power amplifiers provide up to 2000 W of peak power.

Piezo Driver & Piezo Controller Selection Guide:
http://www.physikinstrumente.com/en/products/piezo_driver/piezo_driver_selection.php?&table=all

The M-663 Piline™ miniature piezo motor stage is the smallest closed-loop ultrasonic linear piezo-motor-driven translation stage with integrated high-precision linear encoder (100 nanometer resolution). It combines the advantages of piezo-motor drives with PI precision micro mechanics.

PI offers mini piezo-motor-driven stages as small as ~9x6x2 mm.

Other Piezo Motors / Stages:

• P-652 Mini Piezomotor Stage / Actuator

• P-653 PCB-Mount Mini Piezomotor Linear Slide

• M-664, 25 mm Travel Linear Stage with Piezo Motor

• M-682, 50 mm Travel Linear Stage with Piezo Motor

• RodDrive High-Force, High Speed
  

  Piezo Motor Actuator Pusher

For ultra-high resolution (nanometer and picometer range), PI offers PiezoWalk® type linear motors. These non-friction type piezomotors also provide much higher forces up to 600 N.

More on PiezoWalk® Piezomotors:

• PiezoWalk Stepping Motor Overview

• Nexact Miniature Linear Stepping Piezo Motor / Actuator

Ultrasonic Piezo Drives-How do they work?

PI linear ultrasonic drives consist of a piezoelectric oscillator made from a rectangular piezoelectric plate upon which are mounted one, two or more frictional elements. Due to electrical excitation of the actuator, each friction tip installed on it moves along an elliptical trajectory, transmitting pushing forces to a friction bar on the moving portion of the translation stage. The pushing force exerted by the actuator comes basically from the energy of the longitudinal wave, i.e. in the actuator shown, the longitudinal wave is the pushing wave. The bending wave energy in the actuator is used basically for switching the longitudinal motion at regular intervals by pressing the frictional elements against the frictional trunk. The bending wave force regulates the maximal available frictional force between friction tip or tips and the frictional trunk on the moved element, i.e. the bending wave has an engage/disengage function.

Advantages of PIline™ Piezo Linear Motors & Linear Slide Systems and Linear Actuators

PIline™ Linear Piezo Motors are based on a novel solid-state ultrasonic piezoceramic drive. They are lightweight, low-profile and provide a number of features and advantages not available with conventional magnetic motors, such as negligible EMI, ultra-fast response, auto-locking, backlash-free motion and excellent power-to-weight ratio.

• Compact Size: The direct-drive principle allows the design of ultra-compact translation stages, with travel/ size ratios close to 1. The M-661.4P0, for example, provides 20 mm travel in a 25x25x8 mm3 package.
• Low Inertia: High Acceleration, Speed and Resolution: PIline™ piezo linear motor slides achieve Velocities to 600 mm/s and accelerations to 20 g. They are also very stiff, a prerequisite for their fast step-and-settle times-on the order of a few milliseconds-and provide resolution to 0.1 µm. The lack of a leadscrew means no lubricant flow and material relaxation to cause submicron creep. There is also no rotational inertia to limit acceleration and deceleration.
• Excellent Power-to-Weight Ratio: PIline™ piezo motors are optimized for high performance in a minimum package. No comparable drive can offer the same combination of acceleration, speed and precision.
• Safe: The minimum inertia of the moving platform together with the "slip clutch" effect of the friction drive, give excellent protection against damage.
• Precision fixtures and devices are much safer than with leadscrew-driven stages. PIline™ drives are also "finger-safe": Despite the high speeds and accelerations, there is no risk of pinching or worse. This means users do not need interlocks, light curtains or other measures to keep them safe.
• AutoLock Feature: PIline™ drives create a braking force when not energized without causing the position shift common with conventional mechanical brakes. Other benefits of the AutoLock feature are the elimination of servo dither and steady-state heat dissipation.
• Vacuum Compatible: PIline™ drives are 100% ceramic and can be used in a vaccum without performance loss.
• Negligible EMI: PIline™ drives do not create magnetic fields nor are they influenced by them, a decisive advantage in many applications.
• Custom Solutions / Flexibility for OEMs: PIline™ drives are available in open-loop and closed-loop trans-lation stages and as OEM components. PI develops and manufactures all piezo ceramic components in-house. This gives us the flexibility to provide custom motors (size, force, environmental conditions) for OEM and research applications.
• Quality, Lifetime, Experience: Based on PI's 30+ years of experience with piezo nanopositioning technology, PIline™ drives offer exceptional precision and reliability with an MTBF of >20,000 hours. Components such as gears, shafts and moving cables that are prone to failure in conventional motion systems, are simply not part on the Piline™ design.

More on the M-663 Piezo Motor Stage:

P-652: Mini Piezo Motor:

P-653: PCB Mounted 8 mm Piezo Motor:

Piezo Motor White Papers: http://www.piezo-motor.net

Piezo Motor Technotes

Ultrasonic Piezo Motor Paper

Piezo Motor Catalogs:

Ultrasonic Piezo Motors (Faster)

Stepping Piezo Motors (Higher Precision):

PiezoMotor Overview:

Flexure Guided PiezoStage Overview:

Advantages: sterile, no lubricants, high speed, millisecond responsiveness, vacuum compatible, non-magnetic

Applications: Precision Motion Control, Optics & Imaging, Fast Valve Control, Applications in High Magnetic Fields, Vacuum, Liquid Dispensing, Fast Pumps, Scanning Microscopy, OCT, MRI.

PI offers three advanced types of ceramic, non-magnetic linear motor actuators that can replace classical actuators.

The three types are distinguished by force, travel range and speed and precision.

• For short travel ranges (<0.5 mm), high forces and very rapid response (sub-millisecond feasible) the PiezoMove® flexure actuators are recommended.
• Basically unlimited travel ranges are provided by both the ultrasonic and piezo stepping type linear motor actuators.
• While the faster ultrasonic motor actuators provide speeds to 800 mm/sec, the piezo stepping motor actuators feature higher resolution and forces.

Features of the linear motor actuator designs:

• Non-magnetic, sterile, (bakeable to 150C) and vacuum-compatible
• Self-locking at rest.
• Very Compact (from 8x6x2 mm) and Cost-Effective
• Forces to 500 N (50 kg), basically unlimited linear travel
• Speed to 800 mm/sec (ultrasonic type)
• Position resolution to 30 picometers (stepping type)
• Stiff Designs, millisecond responsiveness & high bandwidth

More Information (click on the links below):

• Miniature Ceramic Piezo Stepping Motors
• High Force Piezo Stepping Motors, Principle
• Piezo Flexure Actuators
• Ultrasonic Piezo Motors

Self-Locking, No Wear, Maintenance-Free, No Lubricants

In contrast to servo or stepper motor actuators, the piezo ceramic linear motors effect linear motion directly, without the need to transform rotation with gears and leadscrews. Backlash and wear are eliminated and the drive is maintenance-free. Piezo ceramic actuators exhibit high stiffness and are self-locking when powered down with nanometer position stability, and zero heat dissipation or servo-dither at rest.

About PI

PI is a leading manufacturer of nanopositioning and precision motion-control equipment for photonics, nanotechnology, semiconductor and life science applications. PI has been developing and manufacturing standard & custom precision products with piezoelectric and electromagnetic drives for 35+ years. The company has been ISO 9001 certified since 1994 and provides innovative, high-quality solutions for OEM and research. PI is present worldwide with eight subsidiaries and total staff of 450+.