Small, Light Nanopositioner Offers Long Lifetime

The P-616 NanoCube XYZ piezo scanner from PI (Physik Instrumente) is a redesign of its previous model P-611 3-D positioning stage.

Now based on a parallel-kinematic design, with only one lightweight moving platform for all three axes, higher precision and dynamics are available in a more compact package. The P-616 NanoCube is the smallest and lightest system in the company’s line, with capacitive feedback delivering 100 µm travel range. The positioner is operated via the proprietary E-727 digital servo piezo controller. Compared with conventional analog piezo controllers, it offers the advantage of higher linearity, faster settling and scanning speed, and easy access to all motion parameters. An all-inclusive software package is included: drivers for LabVIEW, dynamic libraries for Windows and Linux, MATLAB. Interfaces consist of USB, SPI, RS-232, and analog. Supported functions include Wave generator, data recorder, auto zero, and trigger I/O. The XYZ stage is driven by ceramic-encapsulated, preloaded PICMA piezo actuators that provide better performance and reliability than conventionally insulated piezo actuators. Actuators, guidance and sensors are maintenance-free, not subject to wear, and offer extraordinary lifetime and cost-effectiveness. In reliability tests carried out by NASA/JPL for the Mars Mission, the actuators survived 100 billion cycles without failures. Fields of applications include photonics alignment, microscopy, 3-D imaging, screening, surface analysis and wafer inspection.