Piezo Motors for Precision Motion Control, Automation

Compact ultrasonic motors, stick-slip inertia drives, and PiezoWalk stepping motors can provide high speed, nanometer-class motion, self-locking operation, vacuum compatibility, and non-magnetic drive principles.

Ultrasonic Motors Stick-Slip Motors PiezoWalk® Motors White Papers Piezo Motor Videos

Non-MagneticSelf-LockingVacuum CompatibleCompact DesignNanometer Precision

High speed ultrasonic piezo linear motor drive

Ultrasonic Motors

High acceleration and fast linear motion in compact positioning stages.

Stick-slip inertia piezo motor principle

Stick-Slip Motors

Compact inertia drives for miniature stages and long travel in small packages.

Rotary Piezo Motors

Low-profile rotary stages with self-locking ultrasonic motor technology.

PiezoWalk^® Motors

High force, very high resolution, and stable holding without continuous power.

What Is a Piezo Motor?

Piezo motors are based on the piezoelectric effect. These compact, energy-efficient mechatronic mechanisms convert microscopic ceramic motion into useful linear or rotary motion and can replace conventional electrodynamic motors in precision positioning applications.

PI currently manufactures several basic types of piezoelectric motors: ultrasonic motors, piezo stepping motors (PiezoWalk^®) and inertial stick-slip motors. All three are self-clamping at rest and can provide long or virtually unlimited travel, but they differ significantly in speed, force, resolution, and mechanical design.

Ultrasonic resonant motors (PILine^®) are characterized by very high acceleration and speeds of 100's of mm/sec with a compact, relatively simple design.

PiezoWalk motors can achieve much higher forces and picometer-range resolution but are not as fast.

Piezo stick-slip motors are usually driven in step mode and PI motors run quietly at ultrasonic frequencies, however non-resonant. Read Stick-Slip Performance Article.

Flexure type piezo linear actuators are best used for smaller ranges but offer extremely fast response to microseconds. Other linear motors based on magnetic drive technologies are also available for automation purposes.

Applications of Piezo Motors

Piezo motors are used where conventional electromagnetic motors, gearheads, or screw drives become too large, too magnetic, too power-hungry, or too difficult to integrate. Their self-locking behavior, compact form factor, and ability to operate in clean, vacuum, and non-magnetic environments make them useful in advanced positioning systems.

Semiconductor Equipmentwafer handling, inspection, vacuum motion

Photonics & Fiber Alignmentcompact stages, optical alignment, scanning

Medical DevicesOCT, microscopy, miniature focusing drives

Aerospace & Spacenon-magnetic and low-power mechanisms

Microscopyfast focus and sample positioning

Metrologystable nanometer positioning and scanning

Industrial Automationfast compact motion without gearboxes

Vacuum Systemsself-locking motion with low heat generation

Piezo Motor Technologies Compared

Not every piezo motor is optimized for the same job. Ultrasonic motors are best when compact size and speed matter. Stick-slip inertia motors are strong candidates for miniature positioning and long travel in very small packages. PiezoWalk^® motors are typically selected when force, stability, and extremely fine positioning increments are more important than maximum speed. Flexure-guided piezo actuators are not long-travel motors, but they are often the best solution for very fast, short-range nanopositioning.

Technology	Speed	Force / Load	Resolution	Typical Use
Ultrasonic Motors	Very high	Medium	Sub-micron to nanometer-class with encoder feedback	Compact automation stages, optical alignment, microscope stages, rotary stages
Stick-Slip / Inertial Motors	Medium	Low to medium	Nanometer-class step motion	Miniature linear stages, rotary stages, compact OEM positioners
PiezoWalk^® Motors	Medium	High to very high	Nanometer to picometer range	Nanopositioning, semiconductor tools, vacuum systems, non-magnetic mechanisms
Flexure Piezo Actuators	Extremely high	Application dependent	Sub-nanometer	Fast focus, scanning, vibration control, short-travel precision motion

Advantages of Piezo Motors Over Electromagnetic Motors

Non-magnetic operation
Useful near electron optics, MRI-related equipment, beamlines, and sensitive metrology systems.

Self-locking at rest
Many piezo motor designs hold position without continuous power, reducing heat and energy consumption.

Compact direct drive
Motion is generated directly at the ceramic drive element, often eliminating gears, belts, and bulky motor assemblies.

Vacuum compatibility
Piezo motors can be designed for vacuum, cleanroom, semiconductor, and research environments.

High resolution
Piezoelectric motion can support nanometer and sub-nanometer positioning when combined with precision mechanics and feedback.

Low heat generation while holding
Self-clamping behavior helps maintain position stability in thermally sensitive instruments.

Where Piezo Motors Are Used in High-Tech Industries

In semiconductor manufacturing and inspection, piezo motors are attractive because they can provide clean, compact, non-magnetic motion inside constrained tools and vacuum-compatible assemblies. In photonics, they support fiber alignment, optical scanning, and miniature positioning where space is limited and stability is critical. In microscopy and medical imaging, piezo motor stages and focus drives enable compact Z motion, XY positioning, and automated scanning. Aerospace and research applications benefit from the low power holding behavior, compact mechanical envelope, and suitability for special environments where conventional magnetic motors may be difficult to use.




Stick Slip Piezo Motors / Inertial Motors

	Models*	Description	Force [N]	Travel [mm]	Drive

	Q-521 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Compact Positioning Stage, self locking, based on the stick-slip effect, Vacuum Option More Info: Small Stages with Piezo Inertia Motors	1	12, 22, 32	PIShift Inertial Stick-Slip motor

	Q-632 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Mini Rotation Stage, Stick-Slip Piezo Motor More Info: Compact Piezo Rotary Motor Stages	-	Diam: 30	PIShift Inertial Stick-Slip motor

	N-470 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Compact Piezo-Mike Screw Actuator, Self Locking, Based on Stick-Slip Effect, Vacuum Option More Info: Piezo Ratchet Motors	22	7.5, 13, 26	PIShift Inertial Stick-Slip motor

	N-472 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Closed-loop PiezoMike actuator with integrated position sensor, piezo ratchet drive, self-locking at rest, high positioning accuracy, and vacuum-compatible versions available. More Info: Closed-Loop Piezo Ratchet Actuator	22	13, 26	PIShift Piezo Ratchet motor

	BIX BIX Stage Datasheet	BIX Miniature Stages for Multi-Axis Applications, Two-Phase Piezo Motor More Info: Miniature Linear Motor Stages	10	40	PIShift Inertial Stick-Slip motor

PiezoWalk Linear Motors (Piezo-Step Motors)


High-Resolution Nanopositioning Motors

	Models*	Description	Load Capacity [kg]	Travel [mm]	Drive

	N-310 Piezo Motor Datasheet	PiezoWalk NEXACT Ultra-compact nanopositioning linear motor / actuator, subnanometer resolution, self locking at rest. More Info: PiezoWalk Linear Motors	1	10 to 125	NEXACT Piezo-Walk linear motor

	N-111 Piezo Motor Datasheet	NEXLINE PiezoWalk motor nanopositioning linear motor / actuator, subnanometer resolution, self locking at rest. More Info: High Force PiezoWalk Linear Motors	7	10	NEXLINE Piezo-Walk linear motor

	N-216 Piezo Motor Datasheet	NEXLINE PiezoWalk high-load linear motor / nanopositioning actuator, subnanometer resolution, self locking at rest. More Info: High-Load PiezoWalk Linear Motors	80	20	NEXLINE Piezo-Walk linear motor

	N-331.2xU Vacuum Actuator Datasheet	Vacuum-compatible PICMAWalk walking drive / piezo linear motor for durable precision positioning; nanometer precision, self-locking at rest, and versions with incremental linear encoder. More Info: N-331 Vacuum-Compatible PICMAWalk Actuator	5	50 / 55	PICMAWalk piezo walking drive

	N-565 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Miniature Piezo Motor Positioner, piezo walk drive, self locking at rest More Info: Piezo Motor Linear Stages	2	13 to 52	NEXACT Piezo-Walk linear motor

	N-332 Piezo Motor Stage Datasheet	High-force PICMAWalk linear stage for nanometer-precision positioning; self-locking when switched off, UHV-compatible versions, and multi-axis setups such as XY, XZ and XYZ. More Info: N-332 High-Force Piezo Motor Linear Stage	150	25 / 50	PICMAWalk piezo walking drive

	N-725 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Fast Focus Z-Drive with NEXACT Linear Piezo Motor, self locking at rest More Info: Fast Piezo Focus Motors	1	2	NEXACT Piezo-Walk linear motor

	N-515 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Non-Magnetic Piezo Hexapod Precision Positioning System More Information on Mult-Axis Positioners	50	10 mm Linear, 6 Rotation	NEXLINE Piezo-Walk Linear Motor

	E-713 Piezo Motor Controller Datasheet	Piezocontroller for NEXLINE nano-drive, 32-bit digital filters, 24-bit DAC resolution More Info: PiezoWalk Motor Controllers

	E-861 Piezo Motor Controller Datasheet	PiezoWalk Networkable Controller/Driver for NEXACT Linear Motors and Positioners More Info: PiezoWalk Motor Controllers
Piezo-WalkWorking Principle




Linear Stages with Ultrasonic Piezo Linear Motors



	Models*	Description	Load Capacity [kg]	Travel [mm]	Drive

	U-521 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Smallest piezo motor positioning stage with linear encoder and ultrasonic motor, speed to 250 mm/s, 0.1 m resolution, self locking at rest XY combinations available Watch Video More Info: Ultrasonic Piezo Motors	0.5	18	PILine ultrasonic motor

	U-523 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Compact PILine linear stage with ultrasonic piezo motor, incremental linear encoder, 10 nm sensor resolution, fast 200 mm/s motion, and self-locking behavior at rest. More Info: U-523 PILine Linear Stage	5	22	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-723 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Compact XY stage with ultrasonic PILine piezo motors, 10 nm sensor resolution, 0.1 µm minimum incremental motion, and fast 200 mm/s travel in X and Y. More Info: U-723 PILine XY Stage	5	22 x 22	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-751 Piezo Motor Datasheet	XY piezo motor positioner stage with linear encoder, 0.1 m resolution, self locking at rest More Information on XY Ultrasonic Piezo Motors	5	25	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-780/M-687 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Motorized XY microscope stage with Ultrasonic High Stability Motor. 0.1 m Linear encoder, self locking at rest More Information: XY Stages with Ultrasonic Piezo Motors	5	185 x 225 mm	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor


Piezoelectric Rotary Motors / Stages

	Models*	Description	Travel [Deg]	Load Capacity[kg]	Drive

	U-651 Rotary Stage Datasheet	Ultra-Low Profile piezo motor rotation stage, ultasonic motors, self locking at rest More Info: Piezo Rotary Motor Stages Video: Rotary Stage Drive Principle More on Rotation Stages	Unlimited	2	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-622 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Miniature PILine rotation stage with ultrasonic piezo motor, low profile design, self-locking behavior at rest, and compact precision rotary positioning. 175rad encoder resolution, 720/sec velocity, 18.5mm table diameter More Info: U-622 Miniature Rotary Stage	Unlimited	0.03	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-624 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Compact PILine rotation stage with ultrasonic piezo motor drive, low-profile mechanical design, high stability, and self-locking position hold when powered off. 35rad encoder resolution, 720/sec velocity, 28.5mm table diameter More Info: U-624 PILine Rotation Stage	Unlimited	0.1	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor

	U-628 Piezo Motor Datasheet	Miniature rotary stage with PILine ultrasonic piezo motor drive for compact precision rotary motion, self-locking hold, and integration into space-limited instruments. 17rad encoder resolution, 720/sec velocity, 48.5mm table diameter More Info: U-628 PILine Rotation Stage	Unlimited	0.5	PILine ultrasonic piezo motor
PILine Ultrasonic Piezomotors Working Principle


Ultrasonic Piezo Motor Controllers/Drivers for PILine Motors

	Models*	Description	Channels	Outputs for Motor Types	Interfaces

	C-877 Piezo Motor Controller Datasheet	Mini Controller for PILine Ultrasonic Piezomotors More Info: Ultrasonic Piezo Motor Controllers	1	PILine Piezomotor	Analog -10V to +10V

	C-867.2 Piezo Motor Controller Datasheet	High-speed, closed-loop controller/driver for closed-loop PILine piezomotors. More Info: Ultrasonic Piezo Motor Controllers	1, 2	PILine Piezomotor	USB, RS-232
* Ask about custom designs!

Piezo Motor Videos and Animations

These videos show ultrasonic piezo motors, miniature stages, rotary stages, and basic operating principles. Existing video links and embedded media are preserved below; this gallery simply makes the important demonstrations easier to find.