Motion controllers facilitate sub-nanometer resolution

Providing sub-nanometer position resolution without compromising speed or throughput, ACS Motion Control's advanced SPiiPlus and MC4U multi-axis motion controllers feature a Sin-Cos encoder multiplier that enables accurate, high-resolution positioning while reducing jitter and settling times.

The SPiiPlus Sin-Cos encoder multiplier features 1Vptp differential inputs that use a maximum theoretical Sin-Cos encoder multiplication factor of 65,536 to achieve the required high resolution of today's demanding motion applications. With input frequencies rated up to 2.5MHz, the achievable maximum velocity is not dependant on the selected multiplication factor enabling the use of ultra high-resolution laser feedback devices.

The SPiiPlus PCI and linear drives were tested on a high performance XY table used for wafer inspection with Sin-Cos encoder resolutions of 4nm (250 lines per mm). Using a multiplication factor of 8,192, ACS engineers measured a jitter of ±2 encoder counts, which is equivalent to ~1nm. At this high resolution, the axis achieved velocities up to one meter per second.