Motorized Microscope Stage is Driven by High-Accuracy Ceramic Linear Motors

The self-clamping ceramic / ceramic linear motors in the M-687 XY positioner are not only more compact than electromagnetic motors, but also provide significantly higher positional stability for the following reasons: once in place, no energy is consumed to hold position (no heat dissipation); no leadscrews that heat up due to friction during motion and cause drift cooling down once the motion stops; no creep caused by lubricant flow in the drive mechanism. The exceptional stability is a great advantage in long term imaging applications.

In addition to the high-precision motors, integrated, 100 nanometer resolution linear encoders provide direct position feedback to the controller allowing closed-loop operation with high accuracy.

A variety of accessories such as slides holders, petri dish holders, multi-well plate holders is available, as well as high-speed Piezo-Z nanopositioning stages for 3D microscopy, image stack acquisition, or fast auto-focus. PI also provides XYZ piezo nanopositioning flexure stages for Super-Resolution (SR) microscopy.