Miniature Piezo Stages with Bi-Phase Inertia Motors

BIX miniaturized piezo stages are available in three travel ranges and powered by a compact piezo controller.

XY stage assembly with B-421.131, 13mm travel BIX stages, and a B-421.AP1 adapter plate

XZ stage assembly consisting of two B-421.131 stages with B-421.APZ adapter bracket

Configuration example of an XZ stage with the B-421.APZ adapter bracket.

E-881 compact controller for BIX miniature piezo stages

PI’s novel B-421 BIX nanopositioning stages are compact, high-precision positioning systems engineered for applications requiring reliable, accurate linear motion in an extremely small footprint. Built with integrated linear encoders and innovative dual-phase piezo inertia motors, BIX stages deliver smooth, backlash-free movement with excellent repeatability and a minimum incremental motion of just 10 nanometers.

Unlike conventional stick-slip motor stages, BIX uses two miniature piezo stacks, manufactured in-house by PI’s piezo ceramics division, PI Ceramic.  This bi-phase inertia drive technology provides greater drive and holding forces, longer lifetime, and higher velocity compared to traditional stick-slip motors.

XY, XZ, and XYZ Multi-axis Combinations

The BIX stage design supports multi-axis configurations and offers travel ranges up to 32 mm, making these miniature nanopositioning stages ideal for high-precision motion applications including metrology, super-resolution microscopy, life sciences, spectroscopy, interferometry, micro-assembly, photonics, semiconductor technology and bio-nanotechnology.

Stick-Slip Technology

Stick-slip motors are based on piezoelectric actuators driven by a modified sawtooth voltage signal from dedicated control electronics. During the slow expansion phase, the actuator moves a runner forward. When the actuator contracts rapidly (microseconds), the runner’s inertia prevents it from following, causing it to stay in place—resulting in net motion. A symmetrical motor configuration ensures consistent performance in both forward and reverse directions.

Controller and Software

The E-881 BIX controller is designed for high-performance control of two-phase inertia piezo motors, enabling smooth, precise motion with nanometer resolution. It features integrated encoder feedback, digital control electronics and is compatible with PI’s PIMikroMove® software. Communication is supported via USB and TCP/IP interfaces. Additional features include programmable digital outputs, and a built-in data recorder. The controller comes with an extensive set of drivers, e.g., for use with C, C++, C#, NI LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python, and a virtual startup emulator for testing without hardware.