Includes two active vibration dampers that dissipate to all natural vibration modes of the table without creating any additional resonances at lower frequencies
Newport has launched what it says is the most advanced optical table commercially available, the SmartTable.
In order to deliver superior performance in laser and photonics experimentation under all laboratory conditions, SmartTable uses patent-pending, iQ Damping Technology to surpass industry standards for performance in a laboratory table, at an affordable price.
Compared to other solutions available in today's market, SmartTable provides up to ten times more reduction in resonant structural vibrations and settling time, says Newport.
It also can minimise vibration of components attached to the table surface.
Reducing environmental vibration is the most important benefit provided by optical table systems.
Traditional solutions incorporate rigid structures supported by pneumatically isolated legs to reduce transmission of vibrations from the ground to the table.
These can effectively reduce dominant vibrations in most environments, but are not as effective at reducing disturbances from external sources such as air turbulence, acoustic waves, and table payloads that can cause vibrations from the table top itself in the form of bending or torsion.
These disturbances can inhibit the performance of demanding applications such as semiconductor manufacturing, sensitive laser electro-optic processes and precision metrology.
Newport's SmartTable includes two active vibration dampers that dissipate to all natural vibration modes of the table without creating any additional resonances at lower frequencies.
If the load on the table changes, the dampers maintain their efficiency and stability after a simple auto-tuning of control gains using the auto-tune function built into each SmartTable.
"We are very excited to announce the new SmartTable and demonstrate the benefits and features that it provides our customers," said Robert Phillippy, president and chief operating officer for Newport and Spectra-Physics. "The combination of features designed into this product should help our customers maximise accuracy in their experimentation by providing up to ten times better performance than other optical tables.
"SmartTable is a tremendous addition to our vibration control product line, and continues to enable us to offer our customers the most complete suite of products available in today's market".
SmartTable also features built-in sensors, which allow users to monitor tabletop vibrations in real time.
The SmartTable controller is USB2 compatible, with software available to further fine tune and calibrate the table for the experiment at hand.
The table also has an analogue output that enables researchers to gather vibration data in real time.
As a result of all these features, SmartTable can be used as an active part of the feedback loop during experiments.
