A review of nanometer resolution position sensors: Operation and performance

Position sensors with nanometer resolution are a key component of many precision imaging and fabrication machines. Since the sensor characteristics can define the linearity, resolution and speed of the machine, the sensor performance is a foremost consideration. The first goal of this article is to define concise performance metrics and to provide exact and approximate expressions for error sources including non-linearity, drift and noise. The second goal is to review current position sensor technologies and to compare their performance. The sensors considered include: resistive, piezoelectric and piezoresistive strain sensors; capacitive sensors; electrothermal sensors; eddy current sensors; linear variable displacement transformers; interferometers; and linear encoders.