Scanner Piezo Drivers for MCS2
The MCS2 control systems for SMARFLEX nanopositioning scanner stages are available in rack and tabletop housing. In its basic configuration, the scanner piezo controller consists of a 3-channel main controller module and an USB or Ethernet communication interface. Other configurations also feature analog and digital I/O modules or EtherCAT® interface options. Single systems with up to 18 channels can be built using the rack controller variant. Building a mixed system with stick-slip piezo, scanner piezo and electromagnetic driven stages is possible as well.
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MCS2 Scanner Piezo Drivers |
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General |
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Channels |
3 to 18 |
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Move Modes |
Open-Loop / Closed-Loop |
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Interfaces |
USB / Ethernet / EtherCAT® |
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I/O |
Auxillary Analog / Digital Inputs and Outputs |
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Amplifier |
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Output Voltage |
-20 to 100 V |
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Resolution |
20 bit |
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Max. Output Current |
250 mA |
Features and Firmware Modules
Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Move Modes
The Scanner Piezo Driver firmware offers a variety of ways to command movements of SmarFlex nanopositioning scanner stages with piezo-driven mechanical flexures.
Point-to-point movements in open-loop and closed-loop operation as well as closed-loop trajectory streaming are already well known from other SmarAct control systems. In addition, scanner stage control systems offer the possibility to define multi-channel closed-loop or open-loop movements using an arbitrary waveform generator.
Point-to-Point
Point-to-point movements in open-loop and closed-loop operation are the simplest control option available. Commanding a point-to-point movement requires nothing more than defining target position, velocity and acceleration prior to executing the movement.
Arbitrary Waveform Generator
An arbitrary waveform can be generated, requiring just a few configuration parameters. The arbitrary waveform generator supports functions such as sine, sawtooth, step and many others. The waveform generator may be used to generate open-loop as well as closed-loop trajectories and therefore allows to control scanner piezo stage with or without integrated sensors.
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| The generator uses the full potential of the SMARFLEX nano positioning scanner stages by enabling very fast and precise movements. | Due to the cross-channel synchronization and the possibility of modulating amplitude and frequency, there are many possible use cases. For example, the two channels of an X/Y stage can be configured to perform a fast spiral scan with a constant linear velocity (CLV) within a plane. Of course, raster scanning patterns like Line- or Snake-Scan are available as well. |
Trajectory Streaming
Closed-loop trajectory streaming can be used to move several channels in sync along a user definable trajectory. The trajectory is provided by a host system and streamed to the control system with a stream rate of up to 1kHz.
SmarAct Positioner ID System
The Scanner Piezo Driver supports the SmarAct Positioner ID System to automatically detect and configure connected stages. For this, each scanner stage features an ID chip which contains individual identification and configuration data.
Capture Buffer
The optional capture buffer firmware module allows controller data to be captured at a configurable capture rate. It can be used when reading data via regular property polling is not fast enough. The capture rate goes up to the internal position update rate of 50kHz. The data to be captured is configurable. The current- and target positions of any channel are available, as well as the auxiliary analogue input values of an I/O module. Once the data has been captured, it can be read from the controller for analysis or display purposes.
Sensor Power Save Mode
This firmware feature is particularly interesting for stages with incremental sensors that are going to be used in vacuum environments. The mode changes the duty cycle of the position sensors LED when the stage is an idle state and not moving. This reduces the heat dissipation of the position sensor and the overall heat load on the stage and the positioning system significantly.
System Setup and Tuning with MCS2 Service Tool
The MCS2 Service Tool combines setup, tuning, test and diagnostic features in one tool. The tool is available for windows and linux operating systems. All the necessary configuration steps can be carried out with this tool. Tuning functions with graphical assistance allow the user to perfectly adapt the control-loop to the respective application. Test functions for closed-loop and open-loop point-to-point movements and waveform generator movements are available. Diagnostic functions for sensors and actuators complete the range of functions.
Application Example: Fiber-Coupler
Precise alignment of optical components has many applications ranging from established industries like semiconductors and photonics to emerging fields like quantum information science. In this application note we demonstrate how a stack of three piezo driven flexure-stages from SmarActs SMARFLEX product series can be used to optimize the coupling between two optical single-mode fibers. In order to achieve a significant coupling, the fiber modes must overlap within their mode-field diameter, which is only is a few micrometer in size.
By coupling laser light into the left fiber, while measuring the output of the right fiber using a photodiode, the transmission is recorded. The figure on the right side shos the transmission while performing 120nm closed-loop steps in X and Y direction. For the generation of the scanning pattern the waveform generator feature of the MCS2 may be used.
In this application, the waveform generator feature of the MCS2 may be used for the generation of the scanning pattern and the capture buffer feature may be used to capture the data.