A powerful tool for nanopositioning, the NanoMax™ 600 Series offer two innovative features: a common point of rotation and a patented design that allows all actuators to be connected to a common ground. See the Further Info Tab for compatible controllers.

What Makes the NanoMax™ 600 Better
For complex, multiaxis positioning, parallel flexure stages that incorporate three or more degrees of freedom into a single compact unit provide significantly improved performance over serialized stacks of translation stages. Thorlabs patented parallel flexure technology lies at the heart of all of the NanoMax™ family of nanopositioning stages.

Nine Models To Choose From

We offer preconfigured units using differential micrometer or stepper motor drives, available without piezoelectric actuators, with piezos, or with piezos and displacement sensors. We also offer our basic unit which does not include drivers but has the option of piezos or piezos and displacement sensors and is ready for you to add your own combination of stepper motor, differential micrometer, or thumbscrew actuators. Our basic units are also available in right- and left-handed versions.

If a model is chosen without integrated piezo control, we offer external piezo extenders that can be added to any of our drives.

What Makes the NanoMax™ 600 Better? For complex, multi-axis positioning, parallel flexure platforms that incorporate three or more degrees of freedom into a single, compact unit provide significantly improved performance over serialized stacks of translation stages. Thorlabs’ patented parallel flexure technology lies at the heart of the NanoMax™ family of nanopositioning platforms. The starting point for the conceptual design is the observation that the motion of a rigid body has six unique degrees of freedom. Each actuator should subtract one degree of freedom from the body, thereby fully constraining the body with six actuators. This contrasts with serial designs that use a stack of single-degree-of-freedom mechanisms to achieve the same result.

Reduced Part Count Improves Performance
The beauty of our parallel flexure approach is its simplicity. Designers and users of nanopositioning equipment know that to transmit motion accurately it is preferable to have as few moving parts acting in series as possible. At each interface between parts, microscopic friction can occur. Such friction tends to be unpredictable and uncontrollable, making it the most undesirable element of any high-performance design. Parallel flexure platforms have very few moving parts and can transmit motion very precisely.

Tests performed over 30 μm in 1 μm steps have yielded root-mean-squared bidirectional repeatability of 30 nm, or 0.1% of full range for the NanoMax 600 series of stages. These results are made possible by the inherent superior performance of the parallel flexure mechanism that eliminates static and kinematic friction within the platform.

Stacked Systems Versus Inherently Parallel Multi-Axis Platform Design

Multi-axis systems are traditionally built by connecting together a series of single axis mechanisms, as shown in the Diagram A to the right. As the number of axes increases, the design grows in complexity and becomes cumbersome. In addition, stacking drives reduces stiffness and can introduce a host of positioning errors. All traditional designs of multi-axis stages (e.g., roller bearings, ball bearings, or flexures) suffer from the buildup of errors as stages are stacked. For a simple stacking of two stages, two main errors must be considered: cosine and Abbe errors. The cosine error arises when the axes of two stages are not aligned orthogonal to each other. The Abbe error arises from the finite height of the upper stage. Any angular roll, pitch, or yaw errors in the lower stage will be amplified by the overall height of the stacked system. The situation is particularly pronounced for a six-axis stage, where the mechanism providing the sixth degree of freedom is stacked atop five other stages. All of the errors in the preceding stages combine to make the overall volumetric accuracy of the complete stack far worse than the errors associated with any individual stage.

Our Superior Patented Parallel Flexure Design
The NanoMax 600 series has been at the forefront of nanopositioning technology for a number of years. The parallel flexure design of the platform provides an unmatched combination of high stability and resolution in a six-axis nanopositioner. The mechanical stiffness is an order of magnitude higher than traditional serial flexure designs. In addition to those already mentioned, there are several other intrinsic advantages of the parallel flexure design: a much lower working height compared to stacked axis stages, additional resistance to external forces, and significant improvements to damping capabilities. Also, since there are fewer moving parts, there is a reduction in the inertia of the moving platform, leading to excellent dynamic performance, making this product ideal for fast, automated alignment.

A parallel platform design solves the problem of error buildup. The enabling design step was to conceive the flexure as a rigid rod that has a flexible coupling at each end, leading to exactly two rotational degrees of freedom. This rod structure constrains the motion of the top plate by connecting it to the base. Six such rods provide the six independent constraints needed to restrain the stage, neither over- nor under-constraining it.

To actuate movement in the top plate, the ends of the flexure rods not attached to the top plate are connected to linear actuators. Linear translation occurs by moving the appropriate pairs of flexure rods in the same direction, whereas rotation occurs by moving the appropriate pairs of rods in opposite directions.

All Actuators are Attached to the Base
This six-axis parallel flexure design has all of the benefits of a high-performance flexure stage with the added benefit of improved volumetric accuracy. This accuracy is better than traditional designs. As a secondary advantage, the actuators are connected to the base rather than the moving top plate. Consequently, during manual operation, operators can achieve a higher resolution with less skill. In motorized and automated applications, actuator vibration and shocks have little affect on the moving top plate.

A Common Pivot Point Simplifies any Alignment Challenge

A unique mechanical feature of the NanoMax 600 Series is that there is a single common pivot point for all three of the rotation axes. In practical terms this means that the need for compensating lateral movement is nearly eliminated when making rotational alignment movements. For complex alignments of planar optical devices this can vastly reduce the time required for optimizing a system.

It is worth remembering that parallel flexures, like serial flexures, exhibit crosstalk or arcuate motion. As a stage is moved to either side of its central position, transverse arcuate displacements of approximately 10 μm per millimeter of travel occur. If several axes are moved at once, the combined effect can be greater; however, unlike the random positioning errors found in traditional stages, this crosstalk is highly predictable and hence can be corrected via small adjustments. Although these arcuate displacements are sometimes of concern, they rarely hinder the alignment of fibers or other optical components since optical beams rarely propagate collinearly with the axes of any stage to better than the scale of the arcuate motion. Furthermore, when using a NanoTrak™ Auto-Alignment Controller, these effects are automatically compensated for by the controller itself. However, if arcuate motion is a defining parameter of a particular alignment or positioning application, its effects can also be compensated for with software.

Modular Actuators Allow a System to be Quickly Adapted
Designed for ease of use, the platform has a selection of modular actuators that may be used in any combination of stepper motor, external piezoelectric actuators, manual differential micrometers, and thumbscrew drives. However, the NanoMax 600 Series of nanopositioning platforms also includes a number of versions that have internal piezoelectric actuators giving 30 μm of ultrafine travel, either open-loop or with strain gauge position feedback. For increased performance and stability, the drive voltages are then also controlled by built-in circuitry to compensate for thermal variations.

The moving top plate of the NanoMax 600 stage offers a 125 mm optical axis height when used with any of the standard tongue and groove style accessories. Details of these optics and optical fiber holders can be found here. Additionally, a range of accessory adapter plates and riser blocks allow the stage to be used together with all of the other nanopositioning stages.

Low Maintenance and Long Life
During operation, the NanoMax 600 series of platforms do not suffer appreciably from wear and tear due to the minimal number of moving parts. Since there are no bearings in the moving parts, there is no degradation of positioning performance with time. This also reduces the maintenance costs since the only parts that may require servicing are the drive actuators. Moreover, setups do not need to be completely disturbed for stage maintenance. Drives can be very easily and quickly swapped over, minimizing system down time and inconvenience.

Sophisticated Drive Electronics Ideally Suited for Automated Assembly Systems
Thorlabs offers a diverse selection of stepper motor, piezoelectric actuator, and auto-alignment systems supported with advanced software packages that significantly ease the task of building complete alignment systems.