Contact-free moving-magnet type of micropositioner with optimized specification

In this paper, we introduce a contact-free moving-magnet type of positioner that uses magnetic levitation to eliminate friction, the major limiting factor to high resolution on the micromanufacturing level. The promising magnetic structure consists of permanent magnets mounted on the stage and air-core solenoids, with little uncertainty, fixed on the stator. Since magnetically levitated systems are inherently unstable, the design concept focuses on stability. Combining the above elements with the repulsive force property, we suggest a novel six degrees-of-freedom Maglev positioner stabilized with minimum sensory feedback in space and have formulated the dynamic equation of the system by the linear perturbation technique. The chief design parameters are optimized to maximize the stable boundary. We present test results to verify the dynamic characteristics.