Kinematic design of large displacement precision XY positioning stage by using cross strip flexure joints and over-constrained mechanism

Flexures are widely used in precision machines since they offer frictionless, particle-free, and low maintenance operation, and they provide extremely high resolution. A large displacement precision XY positioning stage is designed by using cross strip flexure joints. An over-constrained mechanism is used to incorporate symmetry to cancel out the effects of center shifting in large-motion flexures. Advanced kinematic techniques such as screw system theory are used to achieve a good kinematic design. Existing flexure-based translation stages usually have motion range to size ratios of less than 0.01 as compared to 0.25 or higher in this research. It is believed that large-motion flexure-based XY stages can be a cost-effective solution for semiconductor applications, particularly the ones that operate in vacuum.