Nano-positioning of an electromagnetic scanner with a MEMS capacitive sensor

This paper presents the control design and experimentation of a prototype electromagnetic X/Y scanner for small form factor probe storage. An array of probe heads is to be precisely positioned in tracking, scanning and rotation directions so that high areal density (>1 terabit/in2) and high data throughput can be achieved. The scanner has X/Y motion capabilities with a linear stroke of about 300μm. It can also generate rotational motion with offset actuators to compensate for disturbances, mechanical tolerance and nonlinearities. System characterization, modeling, MIMO control design and simulation, and preliminary experimental results are presented. The feasibility of rotation control with the capacitive sensor and offset actuators is experimentally confirmed.