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.

这个小型企业创新研究阶段I项目将探讨一种新型制造方法生产高素质线性编码器的可行性（用于执行精确位置测量的传感器）。预计到2026年，编码器市场预计将增长到37亿美元。高端自动化，智能制造和连续设备小型化的需求使编码器的准确性和可用性不断增加。拟议的技术将提供比目前可用的解决方案更准确，更强大的编码器。 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成精确编码光栅所需的核心技术，从而帮助确保和多样化供应链。 该项目的智力优点是调查一种制造编码光栅的新方法。传统上，光刻通过接触光刻产生了光学编码器。该过程的缺点是加速的光掩膜磨损，低产量，对污染的敏感性以及有限的准确性和分辨率。预计该项目将通过开发一种新型的微加工方法来消除或显着改善所有这些缺点。研究目标是应对所需底物的实质性尺寸和极端准确性要求所带来的独特挑战。研究任务包括构建早期原型，表征机械组件，光学系统的设计和优化，以及几项参数研究，以量化拟议的制造方法的性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估来审查的审查标准，这是值得通过评估来支持的。