F31.P3S can be divided into three parts, sample carrying platform, the probe part and the piezo controller. The sample platform can realize XY motions, which is composed of XY manual digital display slide platform and XY piezo nano-positioning stage. The probe can realize Z motion and is composed of Z-axis electric slide platform and Z-axis piezo nano-positioning stage. The force control processing device is shown as the following figure.

XY sample platform coarse adjustment range 100mm/ axis

XY sample stage fine adjustment range of 250μm/ axis

Probe Z-axis coarse adjustment range 100mm

Probe Z-axis fine-tuning up to 30μm

The control accuracy of the probe’s output force up to nm

Precise and closed-loop control of the output force of the probe

The sample platform of the precise force control device is designed to carry the target sample and accurately adjust the X and Y positions of the sample on the horizontal plane. It is composed of an XY manual digital display slide platform and an XY piezonano-positioning stage. The sample platform can carry out coarse adjustment of the sample and nano-level fine adjustment, resolution can be up to 7nm.

The XY piezo nano stage and the Z-direction piezo nano stage in the probe are driven by CoreMorrow E01 3-channel piezo controller.

Sample Platform above the Probe

The probe part of the precise force control device is designed to carry the probe and to adjust the position of the probe in the vertical direction (i.e., z-direction). It is composed of Z-axis electric slide platform, Z-axis piezo nanopositioning stage, capacitance sensor, probe suspension mechanism and piezo controller (including capacitance sensor signal processing). In the probe part, the electric slide platform is combined with the piezo nano-positioning stage, and the probe can be coarse-adjusted Z axis and fine-adjusted nano level, and the adjustment resolution can be as high as 1nm.

The capacitive sensor, developed and manufactured by Core Tomorrow, is located above the probe suspension mechanism.

The Z-axis piezo nanopositioning stage and the XY piezo nanopositioning stage on the sample platform are driven by CoreMorrow E01 3-channel piezo controller.

Piezo controller (Integrated capacitance sensor signal processing)

E01 3-channel piezo controller is composed of PZT drive module, closed-loop servo control module, capacitor sensor signal processing module and power supply.

The E01 controller has three voltage output channels, which are used to control the displacement size and operating frequency of the XY piezo nano-positioning stage in the sample part and the Z-axis piezo nano-positioning stage in the probe part, respectively. It has closed-loop servo control function.

The following is the collected data. The measured curve is shown in the figure below. The horizontal coordinate is the sample data number collected, and the vertical coordinate is the data collected by the sensor, measured by: gram/g.

The Measured Curve

Note: 4 points of the curve dip is caused by the signal generator. When the probe is in contact with the sample, the closed-loop servo control of the probe is activated.

The device completes the calibration between the control signal and the output force.

In the precision force control device F31.P3S, CoreMorrow piezo nano-positioning stage is applied, which is driven by piezo ceramics and can realize the nanoscale precision control. The positioning stage drives the probe for nanoscale displacement control, which correspond millinton-level accuracy control of the output force of the probe. CoreMorrow  capacitor sensor in the device can provide ultra-high measurement resolution of 2.5nm.

F31.P3S has a very high force control accuracy, very suitable for applications like nano indentation/imprinting, atomic force microscopy, micro and nano scratching processing. It can be also used in new materials, new energy, semiconductors, biomedicine, basic scientific research and other frontier fields.

F31.P3S precise force control device can be applied to complete micro and nano level physical property measurement, micro and nano level motion operation, micro and nano level processing, to achieve accurate positioning in 3D space. With the development of high-end analytical instrument technology and the expanding application scenarios, piezo nanopositioning platform has become an important part of analytical instrument.

CoreMorrow can change the piezo nano positioning stage, capacitor sensor, piezo controller model and parameters or adjust the stroke, resolution, precision, structure, etc. according to user’s demand, in order to change the range and precision of the force in the closed loop control, for example, to adjust the depth of nano indentation or modify the herizontal XY fine adjustment range of the sample, etc.