EURAMET Project 866 "Interferometric Calibration of microdisplacement actuators" - Final Report

Precise positioning in nanometrology, scanning probe microscopy, and process control in nanofabrication needs of traceable displacement actuators operating in the micrometric and nanometric ranges of displacements. High sensitivity actuators have usually onboard position sensors in a closed-loop control of displacements. Eleven laboratories from EURAMET and one laboratory from AFRIMETs participated in this “Co-operation in Research” project as a pilot study on interferometric calibration of microdisplacement actuators. Measurements have been performed with homodyne and heterodyne interferometers, various optical and mechanical set-ups, and different orientations (horizontal, vertical up and vertical down) of the actuator. Compensation of the optical non-linearity made mostly use of own methods and associated software tools. Traceable instruments were used to measure temperature and ambient air parameters for air refractivity correction.