Customized Solutions

For applications out of the ordinary, we help you push the boundaries of what has currently considered technically feasible. May it be operations in elevated temperature, or the need of an ultra-high rotational stiffness requiring completely new driving mechanisms, or simply rounded edges?

attocube deliver solutions through novel design, development, and rigorous testing, fulfilling new requirements without compensating for quality.

Choices involve:

• design (e.g. because of space constraints)
• materials like aluminium, stainless steel, titanium
• dynamic forces or moving load capabilities

With attocube’s broad technology portfolio, we can easily offer consulting in the combination of different stages to create unique multiaxial positioning systems exactly adapted to your needs.

Set-ups are completely reconfigurable for additional positioning demands as all attocube nanopositioners can be combined and re-combined to create an endless number of configurations. Using standard adapter plates as well as customized connection elements, countless of mounting possibilities can be made and complex positioning systems can be realized. Your imagination is the limit and we are happy to help you extending it!

Choices involve:

• combination of type of movements (linear, rotatory, tilting)
• mounting orientations
• product line combinations (AN* series with EC* series)

In practice, no rotation is perfect. A near perfect rotation can however be achieved when the runout is simultaneously compensated. For tomography purposes for example, one has limited tolerance of the runout.

The smaller the runout – the better the resolution of experiments. As the main share of the runout errors is repeatable, a one-time calibration of the rotation stage can permanently improve the accuracy significantly, while still offering a very small footprint. Ask us about your probing setup and we will guide you to the ideal compensated solution. 

Choices involve:

• accuracy (down to 100 nm)
• environment (ambient, vacuum)
• calibration height depending on sample 

Combining multiple different piezo stages with interferometric readout, closed-loop control, and dedicated scanners can be a time consuming job. Our engineers with several years of experience in both piezo motion and sensorics, as well as software will design a complete solution tailored to your needs.

Whether you just need to incorporate several of your own components to a positioning system, or want to avoid the hassle of constructing  a complete 20-axes x-ray microscope with scan software and installation – we are here to help!

Choices involve:

• combination of drive technologies (stepper, scanner)
• multi-axis positioner stacks with various degrees of freedom
• combination of sensor technologies
• system specifications: repeatability, drift rates, interfaces 

The achievable repeatability in nano positioning applications is mostly limited by the integrated closed loop sensor. Interferometers like the IDS3010 are known for unrivaled resolution and precision. In combination with attocube´s piezo positioners this advanced sensor solution enables a next level positioning performance (read more in our AppNote 'Interferometric Closed Loop Piezo Positioning').

The modular design and combined user interface allow intuitive control of the positioners and sensors. To reach the highest possible precision the attocube engineering team supports you to find a fully integrated and specified solution tailored to your needs.

Choices involve:

• repeatability (down to 5 nm)
• degrees of freedom 
• travel range and speed
• environment (vacuum, clean room)
• point of interest
• footprint (miniaturized components)

attocube’s customized microscopy stages are the solution when accuracy and high position stability is key. They provide highest precision over up to a several centimeters travel range. Monolithic xy-units or fully assembled xyz-stacks optimize the stability and precision amongst the travelling axes and minimize the needed installation space. 

Our engineers are looking forward to discuss your application specific requirements and develop a suited solution based on attocube ECS stages. Target motion for optical microscopy made easy.

Choices involve:

• degrees of freedom
• travel ranges
• design of stages

Some measurement tasks require specific optics characteristics: for machine calibrations the measurement target can be freely chosen, such as e.g. a retroreflector. Yet, distances of several meters are essential. Material scientists however want to measure directly on various surfaces, but only in millimeter ranges. 

The beam shape is the key to find a suitable solution for such diverse requirements. To ensure easy integration into your set-up, attocube offers suitable types of optics for different sensor head geometries. 

Choices involve:

• focused or collimated
• filter options
• single or dual-pass

Focused sensor heads are the preferred choice when you have multiple measurement applications, require small laser spot sizes, need high angular tolerances, or need to measure directly on your material surfaces.

The focus length is crucial in order to achieve the best performance with your setup. attocube offers multiple focus lengths for every sensor head, allowing the best performance over a broad measurement range. Always focused on your application. 

Choices involve:

• up to +-10° angular tolerance on various surfaces
• working distances up to 250 mm

Enabling stable and user friendly mounting in extreme environmental conditions or space confined set-ups can be a challenging task. To facilitate the integration and start-up of the interferometer, attocube offers mounting solutions tailored to your application.

Adaptions range from individual sensor head modifications to pre-aligned multi-axis-solutions or traditional optical mounts.

Choices involve:

• pre-aligned and multi-axis solutions
• beam steering (e.g. 90° sensor heads) 
• miniaturized mounts for extreme environments

The fiber-based design of the IDS3010 interferometer offers maximum flexibility during integration and operation, even when using its standard components.

We offer a broad selection of customizable optical fibers and vacuum feedthroughs to enable straight-forward integration, even for remote setup locations or inside vacuum chambers. We are happy to guide you to the best solution for your application.

Choices involve:

• fiber lenghts up to several hundered meters
• fiber type and diameter (e.g. jackets, bending optimized cores)
• feedthrough diameter and number of channels   

Every detail is crucial, especially for demanding nano-scale applications that require extreme working distances, multiple encapsulated chambers, or ultra-low temperatures.

By tailoring the interferometer internal optics, electronics, and software, we can address nearly every challenge. Regardless of how complex your requirements are, you can team up with our engineers to find solutions.

Choices involve:

• ultra long ranges (up to 30 m)
• low/high measurement laser power
• set-up specific linearity optimization 

Applications aiming for larger working distances benefit from high-quality reflective targets, which usually are attached directly at the point of interest. As the measurement target is the core of the setup, the correct choice is imperative for successful measurements. 

While retroreflectors offer high angular tolerances for movements up to several meters, mirrors allow larger lateral motions. To find the highest stability or flexibility for your application, we offer measurement targets in different shapes, materials, and sizes.  

Choices involve:

• mirrors up to 400 mm length
• retroreflector materials and mounting
• mirror adapters for xy nanopositioning