Design and Modeling of Spatial Parasitic Compensation Mechanisms Supporting Triaxial Compliant Positioning Stages

Compliant mechanisms have become state-of-the-art solutions for designing high-precision mechanisms, free from issues like friction wear, backlash, and the need for lubrication. These advantages are critical for applications in ultraclean or harsh environments, although they come with the drawback of parasitic deflection. This work introduces a flexure-based mechanism that compensates for spatial parasitic motion and can be utilized in triaxial compliant positioning stages. The overconstrained symmetric configuration in this design improves spatial precise motion, enhancing stiffness and accuracy. Additionally, a theoretical stiffness model is established to characterize the mechanical performance of the spatial compliant mechanism. Finite element analysis (FEA) is then conducted to investigate the motion behavior of the triaxial compliant positioning stages. The results demonstrate significant potential for applications such as nanoimprint lithography (NIL) that require three-dimensional precision pointing, positioning, and alignment of terminal actuators.