A six-DOF prismatic-spherical-spherical parallel compliant nanopositioner

A nanopositioner using a 6-prismatic-spherical-spherical parallel (PSS) linked compliant mechanism driven by 6 multilayered piezoelectric actuators (PZT) is presented. Compared with a traditional Gough-Stewart platform in which each actuator was installed between the end effector and the base, this nanopositioner installed the PZT directly on the base to achieve much smaller mechanical loop, higher stiffness, faster response, and compactness. This nanopositioner consists of one fixed plate; three 2-PSS compliant mechanisms; and one end effector. The kinematics characteristics of the nanopositioner were analyzed through the pseudo-rigid-body model. The behavior of the compliant mechanism was intensively simulated by the finite element method (FEM). Tracking a 5 nm radius circle of the 15 times 15 times 5 cm³ prototype was experimentally demonstrated. The measurement results showed the nanopositioner achieved 8 mum travel with 5 nm resolutions and 200 murad rotation with 0.7 murad resolutions. The nanopositioner can be used to manipulate nano scale devices, fabricate nano components, or operate nano machines.