Advanced Imaging: Microscope XY Stage Democratizes Piezo Motor Advantages

PI offers a microscope XY-stage family designed for democratizing the advantages of ultrasonic piezo motor drive systems in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The U-781 XY stage provides 128x86mm travel, is equipped with 10nm resolution linear encoders for direct position measurement at the platform, and is compatible with inverted microscopes of the four leading microscope manufacturers. U-781 includes a high-performance 2-axis motion controller and joystick and offers interfaces to common microscopy software tools, such as µ-Manager, MatLab, LabView, Python, and Nikon NIS Elements—all at an extremely attractive price/performance ratio.

Ultra-Stable - Ideal for Long Term Imaging

PI's patented ultrasonic direct-drive motors feature millisecond responsiveness and provide a wide dynamic velocity range – from lower that 1µm/sec to more than 100mm/sec, with jerk-free, smooth motion. This performance is made possible by a patented dual frequency drive system and adaptive control parameter setting in the controller firmware.

A great advantage over conventional drive systems is the drift-free self-locking design that clamps the stage down once a target position has been reached. The stiff piezo-ceramic direct drive avoids servo jitter, which can occur with electromagnetic linear direct drive motors due to insufficient damping or amplifier noise.

Accessories

A large aperture and many adapter plates allow for the use of microscope slides, well plates and petri dishes. An optional P-736 PInano Z stage or P-545 XYZ piezo flexure nanopositioning stage can be added for applications such as fast focus, single molecule tracking or optical trapping. 

Controller, Software, and Joystick

A controller with extensive software support and a joystick are included in the package.  Joystick mode and computer-controlled mode can be switched with one button. The advanced digital servo controller (automatic switchover between static and dynamic PID parameters) is optimized for ultrasonic motors to achieve maximum dynamic performance with settling times as low as a few 10 milliseconds without sacrificing resolution and smooth operation. A comprehensive software package is included: drivers for LabVIEW, dynamic libraries for Windows and Linux, MATLAB,  µManager, Andor iQ. Interfaces include USB, SPI, RS-232, and analog. 

Why Piezo Technology is Critical for High Resolution Imaging?
Piezo technology enables motion systems to achieve nanometer-level positioning resolution, extremely high acceleration, and frictionless operation, making it ideal for precision automation, optics, semiconductor manufacturing, and advanced scientific instrumentation.  

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Datasheet: U-781 XY Microscope Stage with Controller

Blog Post: Performance of Ultrasonic Motors

Video: Nanopositioning Applications for Microscopy, Neuroscience, and Metrology

Applications Article: Microscope Stages Support Mapping the Inner Structure of Biological Systems

Industries Served 
Microscopy, DNA Sequencing, Bio-Nanotechnology, Bio-Medical Research, Pharmaceutical Research