There are many factors to consider when looking for nanopositioning piezo stages. The following series of articles will help explain some items that are important when looking at different stages and systems. Those who are new to the world of nanopositioning, please contact us with any additional questions. There are different types of “nanopositioners” on the market. These articles will focus on providing information regarding flexure piezoelectric stages.
The advantages of such systems include:
- Frictionless motion
- High stiffness
- High-speed motion
- Small parasitic errors
Read: Benefits of Piezo Flexure Stages
The major disadvantage of piezo stages are their limited range of motion. While some designs have travel of up to 2mm most stages typically move a few hundred microns. A nanopositioning system includes a nanopositioning stage, controller, and software. Working together as one system allows precision positioning and speed necessary for today’s advanced applications. Closed-loop capability is a corner stone of nPoint technology. Sensors are used to determine actual stage location and to maintain position. This allows movement away from and back to the desired location. Standard piezo systems not using closed-loop control exhibit hysteresis and non-linearity which hinders usefulness for a number of applications.
Read: Deciding Between Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Piezo Stages
“Things to Consider When Acquiring a Nanopositioning System” will take you through some important factors one by one in order to help determine what to look for when adding a piezo stage to your application. This series of articles has the goal of discussing topics that will help answer questions, and will undoubtedly create more. If you have any questions about this material or nPoint products please contact us.
