Design and development of an improved two-axis meso-scale electro-magnetic actuator for a flexure based nano-positioner

Abstract

The intent of this thesis is to provide theory behind the design and development of an improved two-axis meso-scale electro-magnetic actuator for a low cost metal flexure nano-positioner. Three such 2-axis actuators can be combined to give the nano-positioner 6-degrees of freedom. The developed system will remove the cost barrier to technologies that require high precision actuation, like optics alignment and data storage. This work involves use of a new combination of the following technologies 1) Electro-magnetic Lorentz coil actuation (moving magnet), 2) flexural bearings and 3) rapid printed circuit board (PCB) heat dissipation. Simulations using Solidworks and Matlab were employed to determine how the actuator system behaved. It was determined that the actuator was required to provide 0.17N and 0.12N in plane and out of plane forces, respectively, to provide the target +/- 20[mu]m range of motion. The actuator dissipates 11W of heat when achieving maximum range, which raises the temperature of the Lorentz coils from room temperature to 369K, a temperature below the maximum permitted temperature of 413K. The analysis has shown that it is feasible to design and make a two-axis electro-magnetic actuator that can be incorporated into a six-axis flexure based nano-positioner.