Multiloop control of a nanopositioning mechanism for ultraprecision beam steering

Abstract

Beam steering accuracy is critical to the successful operation of optical communications systems, especially those which take place over extreme length scales, such as for an interstellar spacecraft. In this paper, a novel beam steering mechanism and several control system approaches for ultra-precision beam steering are discussed. The beam steering mechanism is a nanopositioning device which utilizes a parallel cantilever configuration and a piezoelectric actuator to obtain extremely high positioning accuracy with minimal parasitic errors. A robust motion controller is presented for this mechanism which is designed to compensate for modeling uncertainty. This controller is intended for use with feedback from the nanopositioner’s built-in capacitance probe. Due to the need to track the trajectory of the steered beam, two additional control approaches are presented which combine the robust motion controller with additional feedback for the actual beam displacement. These multi-loop control approaches provide a level of robustness to thermal effects and vibrations which could not be obtained from a single sensor and feedback loop. Simulation results are provided for each of the control designs.