STEFAN VORNDRAN & SCOTT JORDAN AUTOMATED
Advanced new hexapod options o er reduced size, longer travels, higher load capacities and faster alignment throughput for demanding industrial applications.
latest I/O capabilities provided by today’s multifunction analog/digital hardware, including incredibly fast USB units; c) Motion code based on PI’s General Command Set, allowing any type of motorised stages to be used for first-light seek and coarse alignment. The coupling cross-section data produced during the alignment scan can be saved to a local or network drive, providing valuable process and device diagnostics in production. All-USB configurations are featured, cabling is simplified, and multiple workstations can be run o of one PC. Support for double-sided waveguide alignments is also standard. This has proven to be an ideal addition and enhancement of the fast CyberAligner double-spiral first-light search and fast raster scan: 1) For applications with worse than 100mm fixturing tolerances, motorised stages can perform a space- and time-ecient double-spiral scan to achieve first-light coupling; 2) A full-field (100x100mm) fast raster scan is performed by the NanoCube, building a detailed optical profile and selecting the global maximum for fine alignment; 3) The CyberTrack digital gradient search is then activated, quickly peaking up the coupling and tracking to accommodate any drift or disturbance.
PI reviewed this and similar applications, noting challenges like fibre-through-tube package designs and irregular coupling cross-sections, which can impede gradient searches. A comprehensive application coverage, together with highly time-ecient throughput was possible with a two-step sequence: 1) A unique, space- ecient double-spiral-scan, using motorised long-travel stages, for first-light capture and
rough optimisation, followed by; 2) A fast raster scan, combined with synchronous data acquisition to compile the transverse coupling cross-section and identify the global maximum. The raster scan approach o ers insensitivity to local maxima. The global maximum can always be observed and selected. This option had been unavailable a decade earlier due to the limitations of the motion devices then available. Since piezo devices are so fast, why not collect lots of data to localise the global maximum directly rather than inferring the vector to it from the limited data older architectures could provide? Recently this architecture, called CyberAligner, has enjoyed significant advances: a) An upgrade to updated versions of LabVIEW; b) Leveraging the
was asked to provide a cost-e ective, robust and flexible fibre alignment platform for coarse/fine transverse alignment. The client company specified a simple stack of stages including PI’s NanoCube xyz nanopositioning stage, which provides 100 µm of travel with 2nm resolution. Three motorised stages would allow many millimeters of coarse positioning to accommodate di erent devices in the company’s production. The system was to be software-based, would take advantage of a new generation of fast analog I/O interfaces, and was to be modular, open-source and based on LabVIEW.
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ISSUE 11 | Q4 2017
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