SBIR Phase I: Novel Manufacturing Method for Long Length Linear Encoders

SBIR 第一阶段：长长度线性编码器的新颖制造方法

• 批准号: 2127879
• 负责人: Sergey Zakharov
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: ZS SYSTEMS LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2127879&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Novel; Manufacturing; Method

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will explore the feasibility of a novel manufacturing method for producing high-accuracy linear encoders (sensors used to perform precision position measurements). The encoder market is expected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2026. The need for high-end automation, smart manufacturing, and continuous device miniaturization puts ever-increasing demands on the accuracy and availability of encoders. The proposed technology will provide more accurate, more robust encoders with shorter lead times and lower prices than currently available solutions. The proposed research will help establish a core technology required to produce precision encoder gratings for a new generation of incremental and absolute position sensors, helping to secure and diversify the supply chain. The intellectual merit of this project is to investigate a new method to manufacture encoder gratings. Optical encoder gratings are traditionally produced by contact lithography. The drawbacks of this process are accelerated photomask wear, low yield, sensitivity to contamination, and limited accuracy and resolution. This project is expected to eliminate or significantly improve all of these drawbacks by developing a novel microfabrication approach. Research objectives are to address the unique challenges resulting from the substantial size of the required substrate and the extreme accuracy requirements. Research tasks include construction of an early prototype, characterizing mechanical components, design and optimization of the optical system, and several parametric studies to quantify the performance of the proposed fabrication method.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将探索生产高精度线性编码器（用于执行精密位置测量的传感器）的新型制造方法的可行性。到2026年，编码器市场预计将增长到37亿美元。对高端自动化、智能制造和持续设备小型化的需求对编码器的精度和可用性提出了越来越高的要求。拟议的技术将提供更准确，更强大的编码器，更短的交货时间和更低的价格比目前可用的解决方案。 拟议的研究将有助于建立为新一代增量和绝对位置传感器生产精密编码器光栅所需的核心技术，有助于确保供应链的安全和多样化。 本计画的智慧价值在于探讨一种制造编码器光栅的新方法。光学编码器光栅传统上通过接触光刻来生产。这种工艺的缺点是加速了光掩模磨损，产量低，对污染敏感，精度和分辨率有限。该项目有望通过开发一种新的微加工方法来消除或显着改善所有这些缺点。研究目标是解决所需基板的大尺寸和极端精度要求所带来的独特挑战。研究任务包括建造早期原型、表征机械部件、设计和优化光学系统，以及量化拟议制造方法性能的几项参数研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。