ORIGINAL ARTICLE Micro-motion devices technology: The state of arts review P. R. Ouyang & R. C. Tjiptoprodjo & W. J. Zhang & G. S. Yang Received: 15 June 2006 / Accepted: 22 May 2007 # Springer-Verlag London Limited 2007 Abstract In this paper we review the world-wide study on micro-motion systems both from an academic and an industrial perspective. The objective of the review is to answer the following questions: (1) What are the limitations of technologies to develop a micro-motion device in terms of function, motion range, accuracy, and speed it can achieve? (2) What is any economic implication of these technologies? (3) What are future research directions? The micro-motion systems considered in this paper are classified into four kinds in terms of their motion ranges: (a) < 1 μm, (b) 1 ∼ 100 μm, (c) 100 ∼ 1000 μm, and (d) > 1000 μm. This review concludes that the PZT actuation element integrated with the compliant mechanism is the most promising technology which can achieve high accuracy (sub-nanometer) of all four kinds of motion ranges. This promise is further based on the amplification technology using the compliant mechanism concept. The amplification mechanism is used to com- pensate the problem with a limited stroke of the PZT actuation element. The compliant amplification mecha- nism allows one to achieve a high resolution and high stiffness motion which does not compromise the loss of accuracy due to motion amplification. The PZT actuation element and the compliant mechanism are both econom- ically viable. Future research direction should generally focus on the interface between the PZT actuation element and compliant mechanism and the reliability of the compliant mechanism under cyclic deformation of com- pliant materials. Keywords Micro-motion system . Actuator . Compliant mechanism . Manipulator 1 Introduction A steady need for increased accuracy and precision in production machinery and other devices has led to the development of technologies. Precision engineering emerged from mechanical engineering followed by micro- mechanics and, recently, nanotechnology. The fact of smaller volume per unit alone often opens a new market. Further, the smaller volume per unit enables to combine several functions within one product with an acceptable price and size. On the other hand, the miniaturization of devices enables the development of new functions. Nowadays, industry is quite interested in using precision manufacturing and assembly for small parts with a size ranging from very few millimeters down to micrometers. Also, there exists a worldwide interest in micro tools. Micro-motion devices that can perform very small motions with very high positioning accuracy potentially have wide application in industry. Typical applications are chip assembly in the semiconductor industry, cell manipulation in biotechnology, and automatic surgery in medicine. This paper gives a comprehensive review in the area of micro-motion devices. The goal of this review is to update the state of arts of micro-motion systems in both research and development. This means that the review will cover both research results and industrial products. The review will be conducted by classifying the micro-motion systems Int J Adv Manuf Technol DOI 10.1007/s00170-007-1109-6 P. R. Ouyang Department of Aerospace Engineering, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada R. C. Tjiptoprodjo : W. J. Zhang (*) : G. S. Yang Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Dr., Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada e-mail: wjz485@mail.usask.ca W. J. Zhang : G. S. Yang College of Mechanical and Power Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, PR China