Integrated system and control design of a one DoF nano-metrology platform

Mechanical vibrations and precision of conventional positioning systems are limiting factors for using nano-metrology tools directly in production environments. Vibrations cause relative motion between workpiece and inspection tool, which distorts measurements at the nanometer level. To enable robot based in-line nano-metrology, this paper proposes a metrology platform that is mounted on a robot arm and maintains a constant and precise relative distance to the workpiece by means of a control loop. This paper presents the mechatronic system design of a 1 degree of freedom (DoF) metrology platform for tracking a vibrating sample in the sub-nanometer range. By incorporating control relevant requirements in the mechanical and electrical design, which is supported by a dynamic error budgeting analysis, the implementation of a high bandwidth feedback loop is enabled. The metrology platform consists of a 1 DoF Lorentz actuator with gravity compensator, a low stiffness flexure-based guiding mechanism and a moving mass of 4 kg with high structural resonance frequencies. A high-bandwidth PD based controller that utilizes the signal of an interferometer is implemented for feedback control. Experiments show a tracking error of 4 nm RMS when exposing the sample under test to on-site measured vibrations, which complies with the dynamic error budgeting analysis. This demonstrates viability of the implemented mechatronic design for in-line metrology applications requiring sub-nanometer precision.