PI (Physik Instrumente) showed several high-precision motion systems based on magnetic levitation technology at SEMICON West 2026. The systems provide.
Republished by AIC Engineering. All rights belong to the original publisher; see Source below.
PI (Physik Instrumente) showed several high-precision motion systems based on magnetic levitation technology at SEMICON West 2026. The systems provide six-axis control without mechanical bearings. Each stage levitates and drives its moving platform directly, avoiding bearing contact, lubrication and bearing wear. Target applications include hybrid bonding and advanced packaging, wafer inspection and surface metrology.
100% bearing-free: six axes, zero contact: PI’s MagLev platforms show promise for hybrid bonding and wafer metrology
Long-travel linear stage: force-controlled bonding and inspection on the fly The linear demonstrator combines 400 mm of travel in X, 400 µm in Y and Z and angular motion of 1 mrad in θX/θY and 2 mrad in θZ in a single levitated body. It offers in-position stability below 2 nm in Z and below 20 nrad in angle. The stage supports constant-velocity Z approach with contact detection and then applies process forces above 100 N with mN force resolution. It reaches 2 g acceleration and 400 mm/s, with other configurations supporting up to 6 g.
Rotary wafer stage: unlimited rotation with active plane control The rotary demonstrator provides unlimited θZ travel and speeds above 600 rpm with active control of the rotor center and plane. Axial position and tip/tilt are maintained during rotation, with axial error below 5 nm and tilt error below 50 nrad peak-to-peak. Other configurations support payloads up to 25 kg.
AFM scanner: picometer resolution over millimeter ranges The MagLev AFM scanner combines 50 pm or better resolution in X/Y and 100 pm or better in Z with 12.1 mm of X/Y travel. It supports die-level profiling without stitching. Other configurations can extend X/Y travel to 50 mm.
Why active six-axis control matters Magnetic levitation nanopositioning systems replace mechanical bearings with actively controlled magnetic fields. This removes friction, wear, lubrication and particle generation from bearing contact. Active six-axis control also lets the system correct positioning and alignment errors electronically within a single motion platform, which can reduce the need for multiple stacked mechanical stages.
PI also presented MagLev and active wafer chuck technologies at the SEMICON West Test Vision Poster Session under the title “Maglev Platforms and Active Wafer Chuck Technology for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing.” The work addresses hybrid bonding, inspection and metrology applications where cleanliness, positioning accuracy and throughput are important.
Applications and industries served Semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging and hybrid bonding, wafer inspection, high-resolution surface metrology, optics and photonics.
Source
- Design World (2026-11-06)
- Original article: PI shows MagLev motion systems at SEMICON West
- https://www.designworldonline.com/pi-shows-maglev-motion-systems-at-semicon-west/