| Nanotechnology for Any Microscope
Or how can I find my atom again? |
 |
| The answer to this question
is best answered by realizing that the P-500 Nanopositioning stages from
PI offer the broadest spectrum of piezo scanning and positioning units
in the “NANOWORLD” (Fig. 27).
Two different designs rendering 11 different positioning range variations cover nearly all possibilities to suit microscopy and metrology applications. Scanning or positioning along the Z and tip/tilt axes are catered for, in addition to the typical X and Y axes with a resolution in the sub-nanometric region. Scanning up to 200 µm and 2 mrad per axis are supported. For the P-500 family, PI is dedicated towards an internal design mechanism in which all actuators and measuring instruments act on the same platform. This PI commitment ensures an active prevention of a cross-talk between axes. Adopting and applying these methods can achieve a true trajectory better than 1 nm; and this in several dimensions (Fig. 28). The high resonant frequency is a prerequisite for fast settling times in incremental positioning and for good scanning stage dynamical behavior. The integrated capacitive sensors resolve to better than 0.1 nm and are capable of a scanning linearity to 0.02%: ideal attributes for near-field and confocal microscopy. The compact chassis design, with a height of only 30 mm (XYZ stage!) and an aperture of 66 mm, means that it can be adopted for use with practically any microscope irrespective of whether measuring a reflecting or transmitting source. |
The P-500 range are excellently
poised for the step into the atomic domain: scanning probe microscopy (SPM).
This tube actuator scanning stage dominated field has been revitalized
by PI’s piezo stages. Tube actuator scanner side effects, e.g., cross-talk,
position drift and angle error, that occur while scanning are eliminated
by resorting to the PI-500 family.
A design specially developed for the German institute of standards (PTB) features monitoring on all 6 degrees of freedom and any axis cross-talk is reduced to an order of magnitude in the sub-nanometer or sub-µrad region.
|
