Non-contact linear slider for cryogenic environment

A non-contact linear slider based on stable superconducting magnetic levitation with a long permanent magnet as a slider and two fixed superconducting disks which define the slide way has been designed, built and tested. The slider can be moved stably along a stroke of ± 11.5 mm by supplying a low current in a coil located at the end of the stroke while the levitation remains stable providing a reliable mechanism for linear displacement in a cryogenic environment. The response is linear with a sensitivity of 52 ± 2 μm/mA for displacements lower than 6 mm. Run out, pitch, yaw and roll have been measured demonstrating an overall good performance. In all cases the measured hysteresis was lower than 250 μm and the measured run out was also lower than 250 μm both for Y and Z axis.