A novel long-travel piezoelectric-driven linear nanopositioning stage

Abstract This study presents a novel long-travel piezoelectric-driven linear nanopositioning stage capable of operating in either a stepping mode or in a scanning mode. In the stepping mode, the stick–slip friction effect between a linear micropositioner and a sliding stage is used to drive the stage step-by-step through an extended displacement range. The straightness precision of the stage displacement is ensured by running the stage along two high-precision cylindrical guide rails as it moves. The developed linear micropositioner delivers a high amplification of the piezoelectric actuator input and ensures minimum angular deviation. In the scanning mode, the micropositioner acts as an elastic deformation-type linear displacement amplification device and drives the stage through displacements in the micrometer level range. In practical applications, the scanning mode can be utilized to compensate for the final stage positioning error introduced during the stepping motion of the stage. In a series of experiments, a laser interferometer is employed to measure the displacement responses of the stage under the application of input driving voltages with various waveforms. The results demonstrate that in the stepping mode, the stage is capable of performing precision positioning over an extended displacement range in incremental step sizes ranging from 70 nm to 35 μm. Meanwhile, in the scanning mode, the stage can perform a scanning motion over a displacement range of 50 μm with a displacement resolution of less than 10 nm. Finally, it is shown that the high-precision cylindrical guide rails ensure a straightness error of the stage displacement of less than 50 nm within 10 mm motion range.