Precision Redefined: PI Impresses with Cost-Efficient, Future-Ready Technologies at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2025

Pioneering solutions, such as the MagLev platform with picometer resolution, impressed customers, as did the compact lever hexapod, which enables extremely fast motion and high dynamics.

PI once again demonstrated its ability to push the boundaries of what is technically feasible by offering versatile solutions for precision positioning that help customers significantly reduce their production costs.

Product Innovations and Proven Solutions Set the Standard for Precision and Cost Savings

As innovation cycles shorten due to technological progress and manufacturing solutions must become faster, more precise, and more efficient, many companies reach their limits. This is precisely where PI comes in, offering easy-to-integrate, scalable, profitable solutions that provide significant cost savings and highly customizable features. With dozens of new developments every year, the German company offers its customers worldwide a broad portfolio of efficient and innovative solutions for the fields of photonics, microscopy, semiconductor manufacturing, and industrial automation.

Hexapod H-815: Precise Positioning in 24/7 Industrial Use

The new Industrial Hexapod H-815 is a compact, parallel-kinematic micropositioning system with six degrees of freedom that has been developed for use in demanding 24/7 industrial operation and is designed for a particularly long service life. This new development is characterized by high robustness and repeatability, as well as an integrated brake and absolute encoders. Via standardized interfaces, the H-815 can be easily integrated into photonics and automation industry applications.

B-421 BIX Miniature Linear Stage Nanometer-Precise Motion, Compact, and Stackable

Customers were also able to see the new miniature linear stage from the B-421 product family in action. This stackable, compact system was specially developed for precise motion in tight installation spaces. Its two-phase inertia drive with self-locking mechanics provides stable positioning for applications such as beam manipulation and microscopy. In combination with integrated linear encoders, the drive can perform smooth, precise movements with step sizes of 10 nanometers at travel ranges of up to 33 mm. These properties make the product ideal for demanding applications in semiconductor technology, microscopy, and photonics.

Fiber Alignment for Silicon Photonics (SiPh) and Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs): Reduction of Alignment Time by up to 99 Percent

Fiber alignment for quality control at the wafer and chip levels, as well as for fixed connections between chips and signal-carrying fibers, is one of the biggest cost drivers in SiPh and PIC technology. This is because alignment is carried out up to two dozen times during the manufacturing process. PI’s award-winning FMPA (Fast Multichannel Photonics Alignment) solution reduces alignment time by ninety-nine percent, enabling cost savings of up to eighty percent. The system combines nanometer-precise, highly dynamic alignment in all degrees of freedom with effective algorithms for first-light searches, profiling, and performance optimization. A variant with a flat design allows for alignments close to or below the mounting surface. This makes the solution ideal for applications such as wafer probing in silicon photonics, PIC production, and the alignment of fiber arrays, collimators, and optical components.

U-781 PILine® XY Stage: Exceptional Stability and Precision

The new PILine® XY stage U-781 for microscopy impresses with its outstanding stability, minimal drift, and precise positioning. It is compatible with common microscopy software and ideal for inverted microscopes from Nikon, Olympus, Zeiss, and Leica. The compact, flat design allows flexible access to the sample. The quiet PILine® ultrasonic drive, the optical encoder, and the high-speed constant of 10 µm/s and velocities of up to 120 mm/s with a sensor resolution of 10 nm ensure maximum stability and accuracy—ideal for applications in superresolution microscopy.

Technologies for Tomorrow’s Requirements: The PI Future Zone

Solutions for future market requirements were presented by the company’s research experts in the Future Zone. The trade fair highlight: a platform based on magnetic levitation technology (MagLev) that can be operated without contact and actively controlled in six degrees of freedom. The combination of high-precision sensor and drive technologies with intelligent firmware and high-performance controller solutions enables contactless, magnetic guiding with a resolution of up to 200 picometers. Friction-free motion without rolling bodies that do not require lubrication or airflow enable the use in cleanrooms and vacuum environments.

Another exhibit in the Future Zone was a new lever hexapod that can execute movements in milliseconds thanks to its lever kinematics. Its innovative 6-axis positioning system combines robust roller bearings with direct power transmission. This ensures a long, low-maintenance service life and maximum dynamics in a compact, flat installation space. The motors are positioned deep inside the structure to minimize thermal influences, which improves repeatability. This makes the hexapod ideal for applications in photonics, especially for alignment and packaging, as well as for use in cleanrooms and vacuum environments.