Subangstrom-Level Laser Doppler Linear Actuator System

Optodyne, Inc.
Compton, CA

In the second phase of a cooperative R&D agreement (CRADA) with Optodyne, Inc., a small business based in Compton, California, Argonne and its industrial partner are developing a Laser Doppler Linear Actuator (LDLA) that is capable of extended resolutions and ranges far superior to those attained by the best commercially available actuators.

The LDLA is a natural outgrowth of the phase one CRADA research between Optodyne and Argonne that resulted in the development of a Laser Doppler Angular Encoder (LDAE). This device performs extremely high-resolution angular measurements in a subnanoradian-level over an eight-degree arc. The LDAE increases energy resolution of a commercial monochromator by almost two orders of magnitude, greatly enhancing the experimental capabilities of X-ray beamlines, such as those found at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source (APS). In an agreement with Optodyne, who has also licensed the device, an LDAE is being used by the Japanese company Kohzu as a diagnostic tool in its manufacture of ultrahigh-resolution monochromators.

Now in development, the LDLA will be a commercially marketable instrument that measures and adjusts the linear position of a device with about one order of magnitude higher resolution and three orders of magnitude greater dynamic range than any existing actuator. Along with its scientific applications in synchrotron research, the LDLA is expected to have commercial applications in many fields such as microchip manufacturing, precision component micromachining, many aerospace applications, and atomic force microscopy. In the latter, and in other uses where there is a need for precision control of the two-dimensional motion of the microscope head, a travel range of several hundred millimeters has been demonstrated in laboratory tests.

Both the LDAE and LDLA were exhibited at the 1999 Engineering Manufacturing Week Conference and Expo in Chicago where they attracted wide interest from a number of industries and government agencies. Dr. Deming Shu, inventor of the LDAE and LADLA, and Dr. Ercan Alp, the scientist who first tested the LDAE in synchrotron experiments at the APS, both received the 1999 University of Chicago Distinguished Performance Award for their successful research.

Working with Argonne

Argonne has many types of contractual agreements to meet the needs and interests of industry, state and local governments, federal agencies and other organizations.

For More Information

For more information, contact Argonne's Technology Development and Commercialization (800-627-2596, partners@anl.gov).