An ultra‐high‐stability four‐axis ultra‐high‐vacuum sample manipulator

• Published in: Journal of synchrotron radiation Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 1059 - 1068
• Main Authors: Agåker, Marcus, Englund, Carl-Johan, Sjöblom, Peter, Wassdahl, Nial, Fredriksson, Pierre, Såthe, Conny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 5 Abbey Square, Chester, Cheshire CH1 2HU, England International Union of Crystallography 01.07.2021; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Accelerator Physics and Instrumentation; Acceleratorfysik och instrumentering; Beamline; Center of gravity; Design optimization; Design parameters; Fysik; High precision; Manipulator; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Physical Sciences; Research Papers; Ultra-high vacuum; Weight reduction
• ISSN: 1600-5775; 0909-0495; 1600-5775
• DOI: 10.1107/S1600577521004859

A report on a four‐axis ultra‐high‐stability manipulator developed for use at the Veritas and Species RIXS beamlines at MAX IV Laboratory, Lund, Sweden, is presented. The manipulator consists of a compact, light‐weight X–Y table with a stiffened Z tower carrying a platform with a rotary seal to which a manipulator rod holding the sample can be attached. Its design parameters have been optimized to achieve high eigen‐frequencies via a light‐weight yet stiff construction, to absorb forces without deformations, provide a low center of gravity, and have a compact footprint without compromising access to the manipulator rod. The manipulator system can house a multitude of different, easily exchangeable, manipulator rods that can be tailor‐made for specific experimental requirements without having to rebuild the entire sample positioning system. It is shown that the manipulator has its lowest eigen‐frequency at 48.5 Hz and that long‐term stability is in the few tens of nanometres. Position accuracy is shown to be better than 100 nm. Angular accuracy is in the 500 nrad range with a long‐term stability of a few hundred nanoradians. An ultra‐high‐stability four‐axis manipulator for use with soft X‐ray beamlines, exhibiting eigen‐frequencies in the 50 Hz region and a linear/angular positional accuracy below 100 nm/500 nrad, is described. Long‐term positional stabilities of 20 nm/200 nrad are also demonstrated.