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Fast and robust control of nanopositioning systems: Performance limits enabled by field programmable analog arrays.
Mayank Baranwal1, Ram S Gorugantu1, Srinivasa M Salapaka1
1Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|September 3, 2015
Summary
Field-programmable analog arrays (FPAAs) significantly enhance nanoscale positioning systems. Implementing advanced control laws on FPAAs yields over 200% greater positioning bandwidth compared to digital signal processors (DSPs).
Area of Science:
- Control Systems Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Mechatronics
Background:
- Modern model-based control designs offer significant performance improvements for high-resolution positioning systems.
- Digital implementation of high-order control laws is limited by reduced effective control bandwidth, even with high sampling frequencies.
- Field-programmable analog arrays (FPAAs) offer high implementation speeds and cost-effectiveness for control systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and implement robust, high-bandwidth control for nanoscale positioning systems.
- To investigate the performance benefits of using FPAAs for implementing advanced control laws compared to digital systems.
- To demonstrate improved positioning bandwidth and system performance through FPAA implementation.
Main Methods:
- Control design objectives for positioning systems were formulated as optimal control problems.
- Resulting control laws were implemented using Field-Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs).
- Performance was compared against implementations using Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) for the same control design.
Main Results:
- FPAA implementation of control laws resulted in significantly improved system performance.
- An improvement of over 200% in positioning bandwidth was achieved using FPAAs compared to DSPs.
- FPAAs provide a viable and high-performance alternative to digital processors for implementing linear dynamic control laws.
Conclusions:
- FPAAs enable superior implementation of robust, high-bandwidth control for nanoscale positioning systems.
- The use of FPAAs overcomes the bandwidth limitations associated with digital implementations of high-order control laws.
- FPAA-based control offers a substantial performance advantage for precision positioning applications.
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