Electronic system for control of a thermally actuated alignment device

This article presents the design of an electronic system that is used to control a thermally actuated alignment device. This device is ideal for aligning critical parts in complex, high-precision systems, like, for example, optical elements or the electrodes of capacitive sensors. Accurate temperature control of the thermal elements improves the performance of the alignment in terms of positioning accuracy and operating speed. Furthermore, the article presents the realized test setup and the initial measurement results. The measurement results show the benefits of the new controller.