A-110: A Fully Noncontact Air Bearing Stage for Nanometer-Precision Motion in a Compact Design

No Contact, No Lubrication, No Wear — Engineered for Optics, Semiconductor, and Metrology Applications

SHREWSBURY, Mass., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The A-110 PIglide Linear Stage uses noncontact air bearing guidance, direct-drive motor technology, and high-resolution encoder feedback to deliver smooth, wear-free motion and long-term geometric accuracy — without the particulate generation or performance drift common to mechanical-bearing stages.

Air Replacing Rollers or Ball Bearings
Unlike stages based on recirculating ball bearings or crossed rollers, the A-110 linear stage uses magnetically preloaded air bearings. The moving carriage rides on a thin film of air, eliminating mechanical contact between the bearing surfaces. With no rolling elements, there is no stick-slip behavior, bearing friction, or mechanical wear. The result is exceptionally smooth motion with low velocity ripple and consistent performance over long operating periods.

The magnetically preloaded bearing design also provides high stiffness across the travel range, supporting stable performance under offset or asymmetric loads up to 10 kg — an advantage over contact-bearing stages, where stiffness and load capacity typically come at the cost of increased friction and wear.

Why Geometric Performance Matters
The non-contact bearing design also provides excellent straightness, flatness, pitch, and yaw characteristics. This is especially important in scanning and metrology applications where positioning accuracy in one dimension alone does not describe the complete motion error. A stage may reach the commanded position accurately while still introducing angular or lateral errors that affect the measurement or process. Air bearings help minimize these parasitic motions.

Non-Cogging Motors
An ironless brushless linear motor provides direct-drive actuation without gears, belts, or lead screws. Because the motor has no iron in its core, it also avoids the cogging forces associated with conventional iron-core linear motors. Combined with direct encoder feedback, and PI's advanced motion control algorithms, this allows smooth velocity control and precise trajectory execution over the full travel range.

Travel ranges from 50 mm to 400 mm are available. Depending on the configuration, the A-110 can achieve velocities up to 1 m/s and accelerations up to 20 m/s². Typical calibrated positioning accuracy is ±0.5 µm, while encoder options include incremental and absolute systems with resolution down to 1 nanometer.

Designed for Clean and Repeatable Motion
Because air bearings operate without mechanical contact or lubrication, the A-110 generates virtually no particulate contamination — a critical requirement for wafer inspection, photomask handling, and optical metrology, where even sub-micron debris can compromise a measurement or a part.

The absence of mechanical wear also reduces changes in motion performance over time. For systems that perform millions of scanning or positioning cycles, this can be a significant advantage compared with conventional mechanical bearing systems.

Single-Axis and Multi-Axis Configurations
The A-110 can be used as a standalone linear axis or integrated into multi-axis positioning systems. XY configurations are available, along with compatible motion controllers, air preparation equipment, vibration isolation systems, and custom-engineered motion platforms.

This modular approach allows the same air-bearing technology to be used for anything from a single precision scanning axis to a complete multi-axis motion subsystem.

Key Technical Features

• Magnetically preloaded, noncontact air bearings
• Clean-room compatible; virtually no particulate contamination
• 1 nm encoder resolution, ±0.5 µm calibrated positioning accuracy
• High stiffness under offset/asymmetric loads up to 10 kg
• Velocity up to 1 m/s, acceleration up to 20 m/s² with ironless linear motor
• Travel ranges from 50 mm to 400 mm
• Excellent straightness, flatness, pitch, and yaw performance

Specifications, datasheet: A-110 PIglide LC Linear Stage with Air Bearings
Read the blog: Air Bearing FAQs

Applications and Industries Served 
Optical metrology and interferometry, semiconductor inspection and process equipment, precision scanning systems, photonics alignment and packaging, coordinate measurement systems, flat-panel display manufacturing, scientific instrumentation, high-precision automation

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SOURCE Physik Instrumente (PI)