PI—Innovation is a Tradition

Highlights of Four Decades of Innovative Product Development 70s 80s 90s 2000+

First commercially avail-able piezoelectric transla- tors First commercially available closed-loop piezo actuators First high-level dynamics nanofocusing system with frictionless guidance Patented PILine
® compactultrasonic piezomotors Patented NEXLINE
® First piezo translators with preloading, for industrial applications First nanopositioning sys- tems with flexure guidance and piezo drive First two-plate capacitive sensors and controller with integrated lineariza- tion for subnanometer accuracy high-resolution, high-load- piezo linear drives First digital 6-axis piezo controller with coordinatetransformation First fiber positioning sys-tems with hybrid drives First preloaded actuatorswith monolithic low-volt- age piezos First piezo nanopositioning systems with parallel metrology and parallel kinematics First piezo controller withDynamic Digital Linearization (improves linearity by up to 1000 times) Computer controlled nanopositioning systems First piezo-driven tool servo First closed-loop image- stabilization platforms PI becomes first nanopositioning systems supplier manufacturing its own piezoceramics First high-level dynamics, two-axis scanning mirror with closed-loop piezo drive and 100 mrad beam deflection range First Hexapod 6 DOF positioning system with submicron resolution First multi-layer piezo actu- ators with ceramic encap- sulation for longer lifetime and zero-outgassing for vacuum operation (PICMA
In the course of the last fourdecades, PI has become theleading manufacturer ofnanopositioning technology. In the 70s, as space exploration stimulated optics research, PI introduced piezo actuators which gave scientists the high- est positioning precision thenavailable. In the 80s, as thedevelopment of the microcom- puter led to the first semi-con- ductor boom and ongoing miniaturization of electronic structures, PI introduced nanopositioning systems tai-lor-made for the tasks involved.The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War and made the 90s the opening of a new era of bound- less communications. For PIalso, this meant the opening ofnew horizons with the found- ing of the PI Ceramic sub-sidiary in the former East Germany. The turn of the cen- tury brought global progress in photonics, nano- and biotech- nology—all fields where “smaller” and “more precise”are keys to success. PI alsooffers the appropriate solu- tions for tasks in these areas with ever faster and more pre- cise nanometer positioning, stabilization and automation. First fully automatic fiber alignment system with high-resolution Piezo- Walk
® ® linear motor ) First piezo nanoposi- tioning stage with active 6D guidance Fastest closed-loop XY nanopositioning stages with large aperture for scanning microscopy First automated 6D fiber alignment system with fully virtualized center of rotation Scanning stages with <1 nm guiding accuracy in multiple axes First piezo controller with InputShaping
® vibrationsupression First digital piezo con- troller with fiber optic interface
© PI 1998-2005. Subject to change w/o notice. Cat 118 05/09.17 A-4