Dynamic modeling and control of a novel XY positioning stage for semiconductor packaging

This paper presents the dynamic modeling and controller design of an XY positioning stage for semiconductor packaging. The XY stage is directly driven by two linear voice coil motors, and motion decoupling between the X and Y axes is realized through a novel flexible decoupling mechanism based on flexure hinges and preloaded spring. Through bond graph method, the dynamic models of X- and Y-axes servomechanisms are established, respectively, and the state space equations are derived. A control methodology is proposed based on force compensations and the performance of the XY stage is investigated by simulations and experimental tests. The results show that the XY stage has good performance. When the reference displacements are defined as 2 mm, the settling time of the X-axis movement is 64 ms, and the overshoot is 0.7%. Y-axis settling time is 62 ms, and the overshoot is 0.8%. X-axis positioning accuracy is 1.85 μm and the repeatability is 0.95 μm. Y-axis positioning accuracy and repeatability are 1.75 μm and 0.9 μm, respectively. In addition, the stage can track linear, circular and complex trajectories very well

A flexure-based kinematically decoupled micropositioning stage with a centimeter range dedicated to micro/nano manufacturing

Precision positioning stages with large strokes and high positioning accuracy are attractive for high-performance micro/nano manufacturing. This paper presents the dynamic design and characteristic investigation of a novel XY micropositioning stage. Firstly, the mechanism of the stage was introduced. The XY stage was directly driven by two linear motors, and the X- and Y- axes kinematic decoupling was realized through a novel flexible decoupling mechanism based on flexure hinges and preloaded spring. The dynamic model of the XY stage was established, and the influences of the rotational stiffness of the flexure hinge and the initial positions of the working table on the dynamic rotation of the positioning stage were investigated. The stiffness and geometric parameters of the flexure hinges were determined at the condition that the angular displacements of the working table were within ±0.5° with a motion stroke of ±25 mm. Finally the stage performance was investigated through simulation and experiments, the X- and Y-axes step responses, the rotation angular and positioning accuracy of the stage were obtained. The results show that the stage exhibits good performance and can be used for micro/nano manufacturing

Modelling and control of a 2-DOF planar parallel manipulator for semiconductor packaging systems

A novel direct-drive planar parallel manipulator for high-speed and high-precision semiconductor packaging systems is presented. High precision kinematics design, significant redaction on moving mass and driving power of the actuators over traditional XY motion stages are the benefits of the proposed manipulator. The mathematical model of the manipulator is obtained using the Newton-Enter method and a practical model-based control design approach is employed to design the PID computed-torque controller. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed planar parallel manipulator has significant improvements on motion performance in terms of positioning accuracy, settling time and stability when compared with traditional XY stages. This shows that the proposed planar parallel manipulator can provide a superior alternative for replacing traditional XY motion stages in high precision low-payload applications. © 2005 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Enabling hybrid process metrology in roll-to-roll nanomanufacturing: design of a tip-based tool for topographic sampling on flexible substrates

This work seeks to demonstrate the efficacy of a novel approach for topography measurement of nano-scale structures fabricated on a flexible substrate in a roll-to-roll (R2R) fashion. R2R manufactured products can be extremely cost competitive compared to more traditional, silicon wafer or glass panel based nanofabrication solutions, in addition to the unique and often desirable mechanical properties inherent to flexible substrates. As such, flexible nanomanufacturing is an area of immense research interest. However, despite the significant potential of these products for a variety of applications, developing manufacturing systems from lab-scale prototypes to pilot- or high volume manufacturing (HVM) has often proven both difficult and infeasibly expensive as research investment and achievable process yield limit advancement. One of the most significant capability gaps in current art, and roadblocks on the path towards adoption of R2R nanomanufacturing, is the lack of high-throughput, nanometer-scale metrology for process development, real-time control, and yield enhancement. This dissertation presents the design of a tip-based measurement tool implementing atomic force microscope (AFM) probes manufactured with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) approach to the challenge of sub-micron topography measurement which is also compatible with R2R manufacturing on flexible substrates. A proof-of-concept prototype tool with subsystems to regulate a flexible web, isolate and position the atomic force microscope probe, and measure features on the substrate, all coordinated by a real-time embedded control system, was designed and fabricated. The positioning subsystem was evaluated dynamically to ensure initial design requirements were met, and stationery, step-and-scan results were presented. However, to wholly meet this extent need for in-line R2R metrology, a system capable of atomic force microscope scanning despite a continuous, non-zero substrate velocity is required - any regular stoppage of the web in a R2R process all but dooms economically viable production throughput. Refinement and redesign of the proof-of-concept tool was driven by new system requirements to meet this goal, in addition to lessons learned from the initial prototype. Improvements focused on upgrading the web handling spindle design and mechatronics, tool power electronics, moving structures, and control algorithms used for high-speed synchronous positioning of the atomic force microscope and web. The culmination of this work will serve to introduce a new measurement framework which may be used to accelerate and enable future research in R2R manufacturing of nanofeatured products.Mechanical Engineerin

Actuators and sensors for application in agricultural robots: A review

In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, agricultural robots have gradually begun to replace humans, to complete various agricultural operations, changing traditional agricultural production methods. Not only is the labor input reduced, but also the production efficiency can be improved, which invariably contributes to the development of smart agriculture. This paper reviews the core technologies used for agricultural robots in non-structural environments. In addition, we review the technological progress of drive systems, control strategies, end-effectors, robotic arms, environmental perception, and other related systems. This research shows that in a non-structured agricultural environment, using cameras and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), as well as ultrasonic and satellite navigation equipment, and by integrating sensing, transmission, control, and operation, different types of actuators can be innovatively designed and developed to drive the advance of agricultural robots, to meet the delicate and complex requirements of agricultural products as operational objects, such that better productivity and standardization of agriculture can be achieved. In summary, agricultural production is developing toward a data-driven, standardized, and unmanned approach, with smart agriculture supported by actuator-driven-based agricultural robots. This paper concludes with a summary of the main existing technologies and challenges in the development of actuators for applications in agricultural robots, and the outlook regarding the primary development directions of agricultural robots in the near future

PKM mechatronic clamping adaptive device

This study proposes a novel adaptive fixturing device based on active clamping systems for smart micropositioning of thin-walled precision parts. The modular architecture and the structure flexibility make the system suitable for various industrial applications. The proposed device is realized as a Parallel Kinematic Machine (PKM), opportunely sensorized and controlled, able to perform automatic error-free workpiece clamping procedures, drastically reducing the overall fixturing set-up time. The paper describes the kinematics and dynamics of this mechatronic system. A first campaign of experimental trails has been carried out on the prototype, obtaining promising results

Design and Development of a "Two- Axis Leveling Platform"

Electronic drives such as stepper motor; either rotary or linear, have found many useful application and are regarded as the major components in automation. Many applications evolved rapidly with integrating components such as sensors, controllers, actuators, drives and switches. Variety of systems that performs similar applications could be developed using these combinations. Simplicity, better control and cost are the main criteria in selecting the best configuration. Therefore a good grasp of knowledge and technology on these elements will be able to enhance the development of the automation industry. One of such applications in automation filed is a stabilizing or leveling system. A two-axis -leveling platform is a system that is capable of leveling a platform although the base is subjected to uneven motion. The word two-axis in this context represents two drives (linear stepper motor) that are used to control the platform's motion compare to some other stabilizing systems that use many drives that eventually lead to costly design. The project is aimed at designing and developing a physical model that is capable of demonstrating the idea of leveling a platform when the base is subjected to uneven motion. The model consists of the basic structure of the platform, control device such as controller board to control the motor, computer as a processor, serial port as an I/0 card, linear actuators and control program developed using Lab VIEW. Thus, the project consists of a system that has both hardware (model) and software (controller program) components. There are some initiatives taken to keep the overall cost within the budget since the main constraint in this project is the cost. Under those constraints, author has found ways to utilize both parallel and serial COM port as data acquisition medium. The motor selection was guided by the physical constrains of the system as well as equations to calculate the required torque, allowable load and speed. The expected result of this project is to deliver and communicate the idea of leveling a platform in many applications. Some of the main advantages of using the linear actuators are its high durability and flexibility of progranuning. In between the accuracy in term of tilt-angle is an impressive result of the system. Stabilizing a solid surface has found many useful applications in automotive, military, micro-inspection and measurement field. This project could be a springboard to explore the new ways in leveling a platform which carry vast practical applications

Energy-Optimal Control of Over-Actuated Systems - with Application to a Hybrid Feed Drive

Over-actuated (or input-redundant) systems are characterized by the use of more actuators than the degrees of freedom to be controlled. They are widely used in modern mechanical systems to satisfy various control requirements, such as precision, motion range, fault tolerance, and energy efficiency. This thesis is particularly motivated by an over-actuated hybrid feed drive (HFD) which combines two complementary actuators with the aim to reduce energy consumption without sacrificing positioning accuracy in precision manufacturing. This work addresses the control challenges in achieving energy optimality without sacrificing control performance in so-called weakly input-redundant systems, which characterize the HFD and most other over-actuated systems used in practice. Using calculus of variations, an optimal control ratio/subspace is derived to specify the optimal relationship among the redundant actuators irrespective of external disturbances, leading to a new technique termed optimal control subspace-based (OCS) control allocation. It is shown that the optimal control ratio/subspace is non-causal; accordingly, a causal approximation is proposed and employed in energy-efficient structured controller design for the HFD. Moreover, the concept of control proxy is proposed as an accurate causal measurement of the deviation from the optimal control ratio/subspace. The proxy enables control allocation for weakly redundant systems to be converted into regulation problems, which can be tackled using standard controller design methodologies. Compared to an existing allocation technique, proxy-based control allocation is shown to dynamically allocate control efforts optimally without sacrificing control performance. The relationship between the proposed OCS control allocation and the traditional linear quadratic control approach is discussed for weakly input redundant systems. The two approaches are shown to be equivalent given perfect knowledge of disturbances; however, the OCS control allocation approach is shown to be more desirable for practical applications like the HFD, where disturbances are typically unknown. The OCS control allocation approach is validated in simulations and machining experiments on the HFD; significant reductions in control energy without sacrificing positioning accuracy are achieved.PHDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146104/1/molong_1.pd