Controlled motion: an enabling technology for photonics applications

Assembly and measurement of photonic subsystems or integrated optical components is transitioning from manual to semi-automated and fully automated configurations. Controlled motion, which allows movement in the 10-millimeter range with resolution of nanometers, is a critical requirement for successful assembly or functional verification of an assembly. Application specific requirements may include holding position at sub-micrometer levels for hours, repeatability of 0.1 percent over 100 micrometers to 0.005 percent over 10 millimeters, and simple controls for systems as basic as 2 degrees of freedom to multiple robots with 6 degrees of freedom each. New clamping technology, in an INCHWORM(brand motor, utilizes a combination of MEMS fabricated features and proprietary clamp interface materials to increase the clamp friction. This allows much higher push forces to be generated or the design freedom to trade force for size. Power versus Force curves are presented. Resolution, velocity, stiffness, and simple control are maintained in a much smaller package. Single mode fiber optic devices have active areas in the 5-10 micrometer range. Assembly needs are going smaller. A relatively powerful motor with dimensional resolution and time stability that can be incorporated into ever smaller robots will be needed to meet future photonic automation requirements.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.