Design and test of precision vertical and horizontal linear nanopositioning flexure stages with centimeter-level travel range for x-ray instrumentation

The ever-increasing spatial resolution of nanofocusing hard x-ray optics, coupled with the need for long working distances and spectroscopic imaging, requires stages that translate optics and samples over millimeters with trajectory errors of under 10 nm. To overcome the performance limitations of precision ball-bearing-based or roller-bearing-based linear stage systems, compact vertical and horizontal linear nanopositioning flexure stages, with centimeter-level travel range, have been designed and tested at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for x-ray instrumentation applications. The mechanical design and finite element analyses of the flexural stages, as well as its preliminary test results with laser interferometers are described in this paper.