(PI: Shrewsbury, MA) -- Physik Instrumente (PI) is expanding its bi-phase inertia drive (BIX) technology with new motor architectures for compact, high-precision nanopositioning. Building on the B-421 BIX nanopositioning stages, PI engineers have demonstrated new BIX-based designs for higher-force linear motion, rotary positioning, micrometer screw drives, tip/tilt motion, and cryogenic environments.

BIX uses two synchronized PICMA multilayer piezo actuators driven by mirrored sawtooth signals—one expanding while the other contracts—rather than the single-actuator design of conventional stick-slip motors. This reduces the effects of piezo hysteresis and increases acceleration at the friction contact point, giving BIX stages precise, repeatable, self-locking motion in a compact footprint.

Extending BIX to new applications

PI’s recent development work shows how the same bi-phase drive principle can be adapted to different mechanical architectures and performance requirements:
• High-force BIX uses a two-sided stator with two friction contacts to approximately double the drive force of the standard one-sided design.
• BIX micrometer screw drives convert the piezo actuators’ microscopic motion into rotation of a drive screw, reducing friction losses and increasing available force compared to conventional inertia screw-drive mechanisms.
• 2D-BIX combines four PICMA piezo stacks with a lever structure to produce two-axis motion, demonstrated in a mirror tip/tilt platform that can operate in both stepping and analog modes.
• Rotary BIX uses dual-sided stators to drive miniature rotary platforms, extending the technology to compact rotational positioning.

BIX designs have also been adapted for cryogenic operation, including a flexure-guided linear stage prototype. These developments show the potential to scale the BIX architecture across a range of motion requirements while retaining the core advantages of the bi-phase drive principle.

For OEM customers, the technology provides a platform for compact, high-precision positioning mechanisms in applications where conventional motorized stage designs are constrained by available space, holding requirements, or mechanical complexity.

Find more information here.

PI’s B-421 BIX miniaturized piezo stages provide 10 nm positioning resolution in a highly compact package. X, XY, XZ, and XYZ combinations are available, with travel ranges from 13 mm to 33 mm.