PI releases high dynamics linear motor stage family

Physik Instrumente L.P., or PI, has expanded its product portfolio with a new high-dynamics linear motor stage family, the V-573. The company said this is a new series of linear positioning stages with precise guiding and frictionless three-phase linear motors.

The U.S.-made linear stage with an absolute encoder is suitable for research and industrial applications, including scanning, measuring, imaging, and alignment, said PI. The company‘s products support critical semiconductor processes such as nano-lithography, mask and CD measurement, wafer inspection, and wafer dicing.

Karlsruhe, Germany-based PI designs and manufactures precision motion and automation systems, including air bearings, hexapods, and piezo drives, at locations in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded five decades ago and today employs more than 1,900 people worldwide.

Its U.S. subsidiary, PI LP, operates five facilities in North America, with its head office in Auburn, Mass. Beyond semiconductors, the company claimed that its systems accelerate advances in silicon photonics, quantum computing, industrial automation, high-resolution microscopy, and life sciences.

PI provides specs on new motor stage

PI listed the following specifications of the V-573:

160/260/360mm travel
1nm absolute encoder resolution
80nm bidirectional repeatability
Straightness/flatness to 1µm
500mm/sec. maximum velocity
1g acceleration
140N push/pull force

The V-573 family combines precision and speed for demanding production environments, asserted PI. Designed for XY configurations, the company said the stages integrate with its ACS-based EtherCAT motion controllers, using advanced algorithms for optimal system performance.

V-573 can work in a range of industries

The advanced stage design provides for straightness and flatness values as low as 1µm, said PI. Crossed roller bearings ensure high stiffness, smooth running, and extended lifetime. Their line-contact design minimizes friction, improves accuracy, and supports higher loads, with an anti-creep mechanism for enhanced reliability, it added.

Driven by non-cogging, three-phase direct-drive linear motors, the stages deliver maintenance-free performance with smooth motion at high velocities and accelerations, PI claimed. Direct force transmission, together with direct-measuring linear encoders, eliminates backlash and play, while improving accuracy and bidirectional repeatability.

The V-573 is available with incremental or absolute encoders. Absolute encoder models offer 1nm resolution and immediate position feedback on power-up, eliminating referencing moves for efficient, safe startup.

PI said the V-573 is fit for a range of industries, including:

Sample inspection, precision micro-assembly, and advanced research
Semiconductor testing and inspection, and metrology
Precision automation, device assembly, and laser micro-processing
High-speed pick-and-place, alignment of optics, micromechanics, and photonics components
Biotechnology, microscopy, and medical device manufacturing

PI plans to demonstrate its technology at SEMICON West 2025 in Booth 1554. The company will present its newest high-precision motion control technologies for semiconductor testing, metrology, and manufacturing.