Sub-nanometer stepping drive of surface acoustic wave motor

Ranging down to sub-nanometer stepping drives of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) motor is reported. The SAW motor demonstrated the high-resolution motion along with quick positioning ability, 0.2 milliseconds interval in this report, over centimeter-level long stroke. The step size was easily changed, by a number of driving waves, from sub-nanometer to several hundred nanometers in which the step period was 0.2 ms. We investigated the motion resolution in relation to driving conditions. Appropriately adjusting the driving condition according to the investigation result, 0.5 nm stepping motions were achieved. The improvement of the resolution enhanced the actuator performance for precise positioning.