Precision motion control and nanopositioning products developer PI has unveiled a unique planar XY-Theta-Z nanopositioning stage based on air bearings and direct drive motors. Unlike conventional multi-axis stages, the A-361 employs only one moving platform shared among all three axes. One of its advantages is the ultra-low profile of only 40 mm, despite featuring an integrated vacuum chuck to accommodate wafers or other samples. Engineered as a parallel-kinematic multi-axis system, this stage delivers exceptional precision in a remarkably compact package.

By incorporating non-contact components, it ensures frictionless operation, thereby offering not only ultra-Source: PIhigh precision but also superior performance and a completely maintenance-free, virtually infinite service life. The built-in position-locking capability proves useful for operations requiring utmost stability with zero servo jitter.

Due to the completely contact-free operation and the lack of lubricants, the XY-Theta stage is an excellent fit for clean room applications. If precision motion in 6 axes is needed, the A-361 XY-Theta stage can be seamlessly integrated with the A-523 Z Tip/Tilt stage creating a compact 6 degrees of freedom nanopositioning system with only 100 mm total height. These 6-axis nanopositioning systems are often used in photonics alignment and semiconductor inspection applications.