A ONE-DIMENSIONAL PIEZOELECTRIC-DRIVEN INERTIAL MICROPOSITIONER WITH VERTICAL CAPABILITIES

We have developed a novel piezoelectric-based linear inertial slider t o achieve remote micropositioning in any orientation. It is particular ly suitable for SPM in cryogenic and ultra-high vacuum environments an d the simple, coaxial design results in a rigid structure. Speeds of u p to 2 mm s-1 have been achieved vertically against gravity, and the a bility to lift up to 100 g has been demonstrated. A computer simulatio n for the system has been developed and used to investigate the effect s of different driving waveforms. In particular an exponential ramp wa s shown to be most effective, this was corroborated by experimental re sults.