Physik Instrumente (PI) has added two multi-axis stages for super-resolution microscopy applications, providing accurate motion with sub-nanometre resolution over travel ranges of 200um in XY and XYZ.
The new PI Nano1x3 series XY and XYZ nanopositioning stages are designed for inverted microscopes from Leica, Nikon, Olympus and Zeiss.
The low-profile design of 20mm (0.8in) facilitates integration, according to the company.
The large aperture accommodates microscopy accessories such as slide holders and Petri dish holders.
An optional 25 x 25mm positioning stage serves as a stable basis for the piezo stage.
Features include: a 24-bit controller with USB, Ethernet, RS-232 interface and analogue control; 200um XY- or XYZ-travel, closed-loop control for sub-nanometre precision; low-cost piezoresistive sensors; and a low profile.
Options include: slide holders and Petri dish holders; a manual XY stage and motor stage; a longer lifetime thanks to ceramic encapsulated piezo drives; and software support for image acquisition packages.
A newly designed piezo controller is included and comes with three, 24-bit digital interfaces (USB, TCP/IP and RS-232) and a wide-band analogue interface for compatibility with all control signals.
With its 24-bit DAC converters, commanded resolution is improved by two orders of magnitude over the still widely used 16-bit converters, according to the company.
The controller is also compatible with image acquisition packages and comes with a variety of software drivers and programming examples.
For highly stable, closed-loop operation, piezoresistive sensors are applied directly to the moving structure of the stage and precisely measure the displacement of the platform.
The high sensitivity of these sensors provides position stability and responsiveness as well as sub-nanometre resolution.
The proprietary servo circuit improves the motion linearity compared to conventional piezoresistive sensor controllers.
