Mechanical design of ultraprecision weak-link stages for nanometer-scale X-ray imaging

Abstract

A nanopositioning diagnostic setup has been built to support the Argonne Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) nanoprobe instrument commissioning process at the APS. Its laser Doppler interferometer system provides subnanometer positioning diagnostic resolution with large dynamic range. A set of original APS designed ultraprecision PZT-driven weak-link stages with high-stiffness motor-driven stages has been tested with this diagnostic setup. In this paper we present a preliminary test result of the ultraprecision weak-link stage system developed for the CNM hard X-ray nanoprobe instrument at APS sector 26. A test result for a novel laminar weak-link mechanism with sub-centimeter travel range and sub-nanometer positioning resolution is also introduced in this paper as a future work. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.