A novel cross-scale nanopositioning stage based on dual piezoelectric stick-slip actuation with a shared flexible hinge

This paper presents a novel cross-scale nanopositioning stage that integrates the advantages of piezoelectric stick-slip positioners and piezoelectric scanners, utilizing the concept of macro-micro positioning. Initially, a unique structural design featuring a single flexible hinge shared by a small and a large PZT is proposed to reduce the stage's size effectively, enabling millimeter-scale strokes with nanometer-scale positioning accuracy. Subsequently, the cross-scale motion generation mechanism of the dual piezoelectric stick-slip drive is investigated, leading to the development of a system-level dynamics model for the proposed positioning stages. The mechanism design is further optimized to enhance performance. A prototype is manufactured, and a series of experiments are conducted to evaluate the stage's performance. Results indicate that the proposed positioning stage achieves a maximum motion range of 20 mm and a minimum step length of 70 nm in small piezoceramic macro-motion stepping mode, along with a maximum scanning range of 4.9 μm and a motion resolution of 16 nm in large pie-zoceramic micro-motion scanning mode. Moreover, the compact structure of the stage (30×17×8 mm
³
) supports a maximum motion speed of 10 mm/s and a maximum load of 2 kg. Experi-mental validation confirms the feasibility of the proposed stage, demonstrating nanometer positioning resolution, high accuracy, high speed, and large travel range. These attributes highlight the significant potential of the proposed stage in various in-situ SEM nanorobotic instrument systems.