Optimal design of a flexure hinge based XYθ wafer stage

Abstract

Optimal design of a XYθ micromotion stage is presented. The stage consists of a monolithic flexure hinge mechanism with three piezoelectric actuators. This paper describes the procedures of selecting parameters for the optimal design. In particular, it presents a mathematical formulation of the optimization problem. Based on the solution of the optimization problem, the final design of the stage is also presented. Experimental results indicate that the design procedure is effective, and the designed stage has the total range of 41.5 μm and 47.8 μm along the X- and Y-axes, respectively, and the maximum yaw motion range of 322.8 arcsec (1.565 mrad). © 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.