A six-degree-of-freedom precision motion stage

Abstract

This article presents the design and performance evaluation of a six-degree-of-freedom piezoelectrically actuated fine motion stage that will be used for three dimensional error compensation of a long-range translation mechanism. Development of a single element, piezoelectric linear displacement actuator capable of translations of 1.67 μm with 900 V potential across the electrodes and under a 27.4 N axial load and 0.5 mm lateral distortion is presented. Finite element methods have been developed and used to evaluate resonant frequencies of the stage platform and the complete assembly with and without a platform payload. In general, an error of approximately 10.0% between the finite element results and the experimentally measured values were observed. The complete fine motion stage provided approximately ±0.93 μm of translation and ±38.0 μrad of rotation in all three planes of motion using an excitation range of 1000 V. An impulse response indicating a fundamental mode resonance at 162 Hz was measured with a 0.650 kg payload rigidly mounted to the top of the stage.