Motion Control:

Scott Jordan, Anorad Corp.

Moving from one place to another, quickly and accurately, is the realm of motion control, and precise movements are key requirements of applications such as optical sectioning, critical dimension metrology, waveguide alignment and nearfield optical profiling.
Moving a laser, fiber, optical assembly or other photonic system precisely remains challenging, but a handful of credible manufacturers can supply devices that offer positioning systems with submicron precision and excellent repeatability and stability.
The constantly increasing demands for finer resolution in imaging, alignment and metrology are continuing to push the boundaries of positioning accuracy and precision. Where it was once enough to reach a certain position repeatably and incrementally, it is now as important to hold that position stably.