Vikrant K S, Jayanth G R
Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India.
Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 9;13(1):3334. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31046-4.
Precision positioning stages are often central to science and technology at the micrometer and nanometer length scales. Compact, multi-degree-of-freedom stages with large dynamic range are especially desirable, since they help to improve the throughput and versatility in manipulation without introducing spatial constraints. Here, we report compact diamagnetically levitated stages, which employ dual-sided actuation to achieve large-range, six degrees-of-freedom positioning. Dual-sided actuation is demonstrated to enable trapping a magnet array in 3D, with independent control of the trap stiffness about two axes, independent control of forces in 3D and torque about 2 axes. A simplified model is proposed to directly relate these physical quantities to the necessary actuation currents. Experimentally, we demonstrate six degrees-of-freedom positioning with low cross-axis motion, large range and nanometer-scale resolution. In particular, here we show linear motion range of 5 mm with positioning precision better than 1.88 nm, and angular motion range of 1.1 radian with a resolution of 50 micro-radian. With the volume of the stage being between 10-20 cm, its utility as a compact nano-positioner is showcased by using it to automatically replace the tip of an atomic force microscope probe.
精密定位平台在微米和纳米长度尺度的科学技术中往往处于核心地位。紧凑的、具有大动态范围的多自由度平台尤其令人期待，因为它们有助于提高操作的通量和通用性，同时不会引入空间限制。在此，我们报告了紧凑的抗磁悬浮平台，其采用双面驱动来实现大范围的六自由度定位。实验证明，双面驱动能够在三维空间中捕获磁体阵列，可独立控制围绕两个轴的阱刚度、三维空间中的力以及围绕两个轴的扭矩。我们提出了一个简化模型，将这些物理量直接与所需的驱动电流相关联。在实验中，我们展示了具有低交叉轴运动、大范围和纳米级分辨率的六自由度定位。特别是，我们在此展示了5毫米的线性运动范围，定位精度优于1.88纳米，以及1.1弧度的角运动范围，分辨率为50微弧度。该平台的体积在10 - 20立方厘米之间，通过用它自动更换原子力显微镜探针的针尖，展示了其作为紧凑纳米定位器的实用性。
