Nano-Positioning of High-Power Ultrasonic Linear Motor Stage in High-Vacuum Environment

In this paper, the ultraprecision positioning control of an ultrasonic linear motor in a high-vacuum environment is presented. The bolt-clamped Langivin type transducer (BLT) with the 3rd longitudinal; and 6th lateral vibration modes was developed, which was excited by using the Eigen resonance frequency for two vibration modes in order to generate stable and high power. In practical applications, however, even if a geometrical design has an Eigen frequency, discordance between both mode frequencies can be generated by the contact mechanism and because of manufacturing errors as well as environmental factors. Both mode frequencies were precisely matched by adjusting the impedence. By using this method, the BLT can be driven under any environmental conditions. The nominal characteristic trajectory following(NCTF) control method was adopted to control the positioning of the system in vacuum. The developed linear motor stage show high positioning accuracy with 5 nm.