Physik Instrumente (PI) has introduced the new LPS-24 series. At only 24 × 33 × 20 mm³, these new miniature positioning stages provide a travel range of 15 mm with nanometer-precision resolution.
The LPS-24 stages fulfil important requirements for the positioning of optical or mechanical components or for the adjustment and manipulation of samples in application environments with a confined space.
For the LPS-24 series, PI uses Nexact piezo stepping drives. These drives combine the high-precision resolution and stiffness, typical for piezo actuators, with long travel ranges. For position measurement, a linear encoder with 150nm resolution is integrated into the small-sized stages.
With the PIOne linear encoder, a 2nm resolution is attained when combined with a stage length of 63mm instead of 33mm.
The piezo stepping drives offer important advantages for the high-precision positioning of the miniature stages: They perform displacements at an adjustable and constant velocity. Their drive principle is based on a defined actuator motion and exclusively on stiction during the stepping motion of the piezo actuators. This results in a substantial increase in the lifetime and reliability of the drives.