Low side-effect fine adjustment systems for ultra-precision instruments in hermetically sealed rooms

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. René Theska
• Subject Area: Automation, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Intelligent Technical Systems, Robotics ; Engineering Design, Machine Elements, Product Development
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 495227621

The further development of key technologies such as nanotechnology and metrology places constantly increasing demands on the precision of devices, equipment and machines. This increasingly requires both maximum sensitivity for functionally relevant quantities and maximum insensitivity to disturbances. In order to mitigate the influence of external disturbances and to achieve a further increase in performance, ultra-precision devices are often located in hermetically sealed chambers under highly controlled conditions up to vacuum. Examples include nanopositioning and nanomeasuring machines, as well as precision balances and mass comparators. The subsystems of a precision device located in the closed chamber exert disturbance effects on each other, which require correction of geometric quantities. Fine adjustment systems are used for this purpose. Fine adjustments are made in-situ at particularly sensitive points or units in order to further increase the achievable precision when all other possibilities have been exhausted. The existing side effects of the fine adjustment systems have a limiting or hindering effect on the quality of the fine adjustment and thus on the achievable precision of the instrument. These can no longer be regarded as negligible side effects, but must be seen as parasitic effects directly influencing the function. An adequate scientific comprehensive consideration of fine adjustment systems and their intended and unintended effects has not yet been undertaken. Fine adjustment systems according to the state of the art are predominantly developed in an application-specific and bottom-up manner. The focus is primarily on ensuring the precision of the movement. The main objective of the project is therefore to investigate the complex interactions of fine adjustment systems and to specifically avoid or at least greatly reduce the side effects in the early stages of the development process. This will create the necessary conditions for the development of new multidisciplinary synthesis approaches and, based on these, novel fine adjustment systems that will enable a significant increase in the performance of ultra-precision devices. Based on the investigation of the properties of the novel fine adjustment systems emerging from the research work, the validation of the approaches and the derivation of comprehensive design guidelines are carried out. As a result, precision engineering design guidelines will be extended to enable top-down development of low side-effect fine adjustment systems for the use in ultra-precision devices.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants