A vertical scanning positioning system with large range and nanometer resolution for optical profiler

Piezoelectric ceramics with a flexible hinge guide was used for fine positioning at nanometer level, while a stepping motor was used for coarse positioning with a resolution at micrometer level, and their combination helped fulfillment of vertical scanning positioning with large range and nanometer resolution. A grating sensor was used for the real-time measurement of scanning displacement for close-loop positioning control. The properties of the flexible hinge guide was analyzed using ANSYS. Experimental results indicated the performance of the system was good. The system had a good application prospect in an optical profiler for surface measurement.