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Performance Evaluation of a Parallel Cantilever Biaxial Micropositioning Stage

Published

Author(s)

E Amatucci, Nicholas Dagalakis, John A. Kramar, Fredric Scire

Abstract

The phenomenal growth of opto-electronic manufacturing and future applications in micro and nano manufacturing has raised the need for low-cost high performance micro-positioners. The National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) has funded a team of NIST scientists and engineers to address the performance, testing and calibration needs of micropositioners. As a result of this effort various performance testing and calibration techniques are being developed on a new generation of micro-positioners with low crosstalk, good lateral resolution and strong load capabilities for delicate sub-micron automated assembly and positioning applications. The Parallel Cantilever Biaxial Micropositioning Stage (Figure 1.) is composed of two piezo-electric translators (PZTs) with internal capacitance sensors, two flexure joint couplings, a monolithic mechanical flexure baseplate, two capacitance sensors measuring the inner stage motions, control software and supporting commercial electronics. Inspired from the PiezoFlex Stage [1] which has only one cantilever flexure mechanism on each axis, this new micropositioning stage has a novel configuration and design in that it has two parallel sets of cantilever beam flexures. This design reduces crosstalk in the X and Y translations and creates motions that are more linear and independent from each other in the X and Y translations and creates motions that are more linear and independent from each other in the X and Y directions. The other improvement includes the addition of sensors on axis with the actuator of the system. This is designed to reduce Abbe offset errors for precision measurement and control of the stage. Our new design has the potential to reduce the error caused by the rotation of the cantilever and also provide room for on-axis sensing of the moving x-y stage. It has two micro actuators and two sensors to directly monitor the actuator and stage motions respectively. One of the more important performance characteristics of any planar micro-positioner is its angular cross talk error. All other errors can be compensated with the use of snesors and closed-loop feedback control. Correcting angular error cross talk can often require the use of expensive sensors and additional micro-positioners, which would then have to be connected in series with the planar micro-positioner to induce equal and opposite sign angular displacements. Our first generation micro-positioner has an unqualified (uncertainties yet to be determined) angular error of 0.3 to 0.4((1/12000) degrees to (1/9000)degrees).
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of American Society for Precision Engineering
Volume
22
Conference Dates
October 22-26, 2000
Conference Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Conference Title
ASPE--American Society for Precision Engineering

Keywords

actuator, flexure, micropositioning, microstage, piezo-electric

Citation

Amatucci, E. , Dagalakis, N. , Kramar, J. and Scire, F. (2000), Performance Evaluation of a Parallel Cantilever Biaxial Micropositioning Stage, Proceedings of American Society for Precision Engineering, Scottsdale, AZ, USA (Accessed March 29, 2024)
Created December 31, 1999, Updated October 12, 2021