The OpenFlexure block stage: sub-100 nm fibre alignment with a monolithic plastic flexure stage
The OpenFlexure block stage: sub-100 nm fibre alignment with a monolithic plastic flexure stage
As 3D printers become more widely available, researchers are able to rapidly produce components that may have previously taken weeks to have machined. The resulting plastic components, having high surface roughness, are often not suitable for high-precision optomechanics. However, by playing to the strengths of 3D printing—namely the ability to print complex internal geometries—it is possible to design monolithic mechanisms that do not rely on tight integration of high-precision parts. Here we present a motorised monolithic 3D-printed plastic flexure stage with sub-100 nm resolution that can perform automated optical fibre alignment.
4763-4772
Meng, Qingxin
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Harrington, Kerrianne
1078f503-d24f-40b0-a4ba-d5a5c0cff0bf
Stirling, Julian
1d68d361-facf-49de-b1e2-39d5a954982a
Bowman, Richard
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17 February 2020
Meng, Qingxin
7dafa5c8-a612-4c79-9b9e-caccdf937616
Harrington, Kerrianne
1078f503-d24f-40b0-a4ba-d5a5c0cff0bf
Stirling, Julian
1d68d361-facf-49de-b1e2-39d5a954982a
Bowman, Richard
91fbf67f-6835-4cd8-a926-db13e839b4fb
Meng, Qingxin, Harrington, Kerrianne, Stirling, Julian and Bowman, Richard
(2020)
The OpenFlexure block stage: sub-100 nm fibre alignment with a monolithic plastic flexure stage.
Optics Express, 28 (4), .
(doi:10.1364/OE.384207).
Abstract
As 3D printers become more widely available, researchers are able to rapidly produce components that may have previously taken weeks to have machined. The resulting plastic components, having high surface roughness, are often not suitable for high-precision optomechanics. However, by playing to the strengths of 3D printing—namely the ability to print complex internal geometries—it is possible to design monolithic mechanisms that do not rely on tight integration of high-precision parts. Here we present a motorised monolithic 3D-printed plastic flexure stage with sub-100 nm resolution that can perform automated optical fibre alignment.
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oe-28-4-4763
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Accepted/In Press date: 22 December 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 February 2020
Published date: 17 February 2020
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 438171
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438171
ISSN: 1094-4087
PURE UUID: c5477142-d373-4c0f-a35f-d58770d24aa7
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Date deposited: 03 Mar 2020 17:45
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:57
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Contributors
Author:
Qingxin Meng
Author:
Kerrianne Harrington
Author:
Julian Stirling
Author:
Richard Bowman
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