| This dissertation presents the design and performance evaluation of a six degree-of-freedom piezo-electrically actuated fine-motion stage that will be used for three dimensional error compensation of a long-range translation mechanism. The specific application of the stage system described in this dissertation is to increase the range of an x-ray interferometer for use on the Atomic-scale Displacement Metrology (ADM) project under development at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while, in the process, developing a modular subsystem that could be utilized for a broad array of pursuits. Development of a single element, piezoelectric linear displacement actuator capable of translations of 1.67 mum with 900 V potential across the electrodes and under a 27.4 N axial load and 0.5 mm off-axis distortion is presented. Finite element methods have been developed and used to evaluate resonant frequencies of the stage platform and the complete assembly with and without a platform payload. In general, an error of approximately 10.0% between the finite element results and the experimentally measured values were observed. The complete fine motion stage provided approximately +/-0.98 mum of translation and +/-40.0 murad of rotation in all three planes of motion using an excitation range of 1000 V. An impulse response indicating a fundamental mode resonance at 162 Hz was measured with a 650.0 gm mass rigidly mounted to the top of the stage. Founded on the results of the first generation stage system, a second, more compact system has been designed and detailed as part of the research presented herein. |
