Physik Instrumente (PI) has extended its line of piezo stages for super-resolution microscopy with the PI Nano series nanopositioning stages. The stages feature a low profile of 20mm, a large aperture, and deliver accurate motion with sub-nanometre resolution in two and three axes.
A piezo controller is included and comes with a 24-bit USB port, Ethernet, RS-232 and an analogue interface, as well as solid software support for all major image-acquisition packages. The piezo stage is supplemented by the optional M-545 manual XY microscope stage available in different versions for Olympus, Nikon, Zeiss and Leica microscopes.
The PI Nano series of piezo stages extends PI's P-527, P-733 and P-563 series of capacitive direct-metrology nanopositioning stages. PI Nano series systems were developed to provide high performance at lower cost, by adapting mechanics and controller exactly to the requirements of the target applications.
For highly stable, closed-loop operation, piezoresistive sensors are applied directly to the moving structure and precisely measure the displacement of the stage platform. The high sensitivity of the sensors provides position stability and responsiveness as well as sub-nanometre resolution. The proprietary servo controller improves the motion linearity compared with conventional piezoresistive sensor controllers.
Application examples include: scanning microscopy; single molecule microscopy; 3D imaging; auto-focusing; scanning and alignment tasks in bio-nanotechnology.