Scott Jordan, Nanopositioning Technologies, Polytec PI, Inc., CA, USA

ABSTRACT

Many modern industrial technologies demand steadily increasing performance from embedded positioning subsystems. This necessitates more and more sophistication in the design, manufacture and control of nanopositioning devices and the metrology elements they contain. This paper describes the use of diamond-machined capacitive sensors of novel configuration to actively control the trajectories of nanopositioning mechanisms. A six-axis piezoelectric stage and digital control system has been developed in conjunction with these sensors and new flexure design concepts, yielding excellent positioning repeatability and accuracy with a wide range of possible applications.