Design and analysis of a novel tip-tilt stage with high precision for space applications

Tip-tilt stage, also known as fast steering mirror, is a key assembly for many fine tuning applications. However, high performance tip-tilt stage often encounters the problem of parasitic error when moving in the desired directions. To address this problem, this paper presented the design and analysis of a novel tiptilt stage based on compliant remote center of motion mechanism. The proposed mechanism is proven to have less parasitic motion and with better pointing accuracy, meanwhile can suspend a relatively large payload (mirror). In this paper, the design details of the stage is elaborated, both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are conducted to optimize and validate the design. The results indicate that the proposed tip-tilt stage can drive a 2-in size payload with 3nrad resolution and 300Hz bandwidth within 2mrad range in both axes. The proposed stage matches well with the requirements of most space applications.