Enhancements to Linear Encoder Family

HEIDENHAIN's LIF 400 family of encoders has been redesigned and now comes with improved contamination resistance, among other enhancements. The new LIF 400 series has a position noise value of 0.6 nanometers at 1MHz and a low interpolation error down to +/- 12 nanometers. Suitable industries include semiconductor, metrology, micromachining and medical.

One of the major updates is the incorporation of the HEIDENHAIN Signal Processor (HSP1.0) custom ASIC into the scanning unit. This ASIC helps lower the interpolation error, and also powers through contaminations on the scale as it adjusts the LED intensity every signal period while moving at up to 4 m/s. See video at http://www.heidenhain.us/videos/Heidenhain_HSP.mp4.

This compensation adjusts the amplitude and phase of the signals so that the control sees constant enhanced signals even with contaminants such as large fingerprints, dust and wafer pieces that may be on the glass scale.

Another addition is a status LED on the connector that indicates the status of the incremental signals and can also be used as a general mounting indication. It is a simple red/green display for the signals and blue for a good reference mark signal.

Also, the connector is now smaller versus the older version, which saves space and improves accessibility when plugged into tight spaces. This 15-pin male connector is 27 mm shorter than the previous version.

Like the previous version, the mechanics of the scanning head do not change, and scanning units can be ordered with the 1-volt peak-to-peak interface with 4-micron signal period or TTL versions with resolutions down to 10 nm. The glass scale is also unchanged.

For more information contact:

HEIDENHAIN Corporation

333 E. State Parkway

Schaumburg, IL 60173-5337

847-490-1191

www.heidenhain.us