High precision prism scanning system

G. Garca-Torales
*
, J. L. Flores, Roberto X. Muoz.
Dpto. of Electronic, Univ. of Guadalajara/CUCEI, Av. Revolucin 1500,
Guadalajara Jal., MX CP 44840;
ABSTRACT
Risley prisms are commonly used in continuous scanning manner. Each prism is capable of rotating separately about a
common axis at different speeds. Scanning patterns are determined by the ratios of the wedge angles, the speed and
direction of rotation of both prisms. The use of this system is conceptually simple. However, mechanical action in most
applications becomes a challenge often solved by the design of complex control algorithms. We propose an electronic
servomotor system that controls incremental and continuous rotations of the prisms wedges by means of an auto-tuning
PID control using a Adaline Neural Network Algorithm, NNA.
Keywords: Risley prism, scnning system, Adaline, automatic control
1. INTRODUCTION
The Risley prism scanning system consists in a pair of sequential wedge prisms, which have wedge angles used to
deviate a light beam has been used in several applications. Each prism of the system is capable of rotating about the
optical scan axis at angular speeds. A focussed laser beam propagated through the prisms, along the optical scan axis is
deviated in a direction according to the relative orientation of the prisms with respect to each other.
When the individual prisms are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, the combined deviation angle and the orientation
phase change with time, such that the image spot traces out a vector pattern
1
. These set of wedge prisms has been used in
many scanning and laser applications where accurate wave front positioning is required. Such is the case also in many
interferometric systems, like the shearing types, where the shear of the wavefront under test has to be known.
Advantages and limitations of the Risley prism system in specific applications have been presented and solved for many
authors
2-7
.
Figure 1 shows the propagation of a ray, incident in the object space along the optical axis, as it passes through the
Risley prisms to the detection plane. Consider that both prisms have the same refraction index, a fixed refracting angle
and rotates at a fixed selectable angular speed e1 and e2, respectively. A set of linear and circular scan patterns can be
generated regarding two cases: when the two wedge prisms rotate in the same direction with selected angular velocities,
and when the two wedge prisms rotate in opposite directions, always whit the possibility of selecting the initial relative
orientation of the prisms.
Due to the wide use of Risley prisms, special-purpose mathematical ray-trace models have been developed. In scanning
techniques, for example, the ratio of velocity, the deviation angles and the relative angle between prisms rotations is of
interest. However, in the alignment and positioning applications we are interested solely in the image or pupil. We
develop a simple ray trace formulation to demonstrate the performance of the laser pointer director, by the use of
generalized matrix equations.
*garcia.torales@cucei.udg.mx; phone (052)33 394-259-20; fax (052)33 394-259-20 ext. 7744
Sixth Symposium Optics in Industry, edited by Julio C. Gutirrez-Vega, Josu Dvila-Rodrguez, Carlos Lpez-Mariscal,
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422, 64220X, (2007) 0277-786X/07/$18 doi: 10.1117/12.742275
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-1
(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Risley system: The relative angle between prisms determines the deviation angle and also the position of the ray on
the plane. (a) View of a circular pattern generated when one is prism is rotated 360 respect to stationary prism. (b)
Lateral view of the prism system.
2. RAY TRACE EQUATIONS
We use the vector ray-trace methodology, incorporating the vector transfer and the refraction equations at the prism
surfaces.We developed a simple ray-trace program to model the ray propagation through the Risley prisms. With Pi is
the point at the corresponding surface U
i
the direction of propagation of each point. We can find the refraction R
i
and
translation T
i
equations for the hole system that can be written as:
(

=
I
P I N F I
R
i
T
i i
i
0
(1)
and
(
(
(

+
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
+
I U AI
dn
t
I
T T
i
i i
1 *
'
0
, 1
. (2)
Here the term
i
dn
t
'

is constant and depending on the physical parameter of the prisms and their relative position, and A
is the unit vector along the optical axis, F
i
is defined as the deviation power of the prisms given by
( ) ( ) |
i i i i i
n n F | cos cos
1 1
=
+ +
. (3)
Then for a six surfaces system we can apply iteratively equations 1 and 2 in order to obtain the position and direction for
any ray that was propagated through the wedge prisms by
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-2
( ) ( )
(

=
(

0
0 0
1 1 1 , 2 2 2 , 3 3 2 3 , 4 4 4 , 5 5
5
5 5
' ' ' '
P
U n
R T R T R T R T R
P
U n
e e . (4)
According with eq.4, it is necessary to know the initial conditions; the starting point coordinates and its direction, the
prisms parameters; refraction index, wedge angle and the relative position between prisms, besides, the system
parameters; distances between prism and the detection plane. All these parameters feed the data requirements of servo
controller which drives the servomotor in order to achieve the desire position of the laser beam. Next, we show some
general characteristic of servo controller system.
3. OPTO-MECHANICAL DESING
In practice, accuracy in the determination of laser point displacement is limited by the error in the deflection angle that
depends on three essential parameters: (a) the apex angle c , which depends on the fabrication process, (b) the index of
refraction n that depends on the quality of the glass, and (c) the relative angle between prisms c which depends on the
accuracy of the rotary holders. All surfaces of the wedges must be of high quality, e. g. figure error less than /20, and
pex angles with tolerances on the order of arc seconds. Nowadays, transparent materials with high degree of
homogeneity are commercially available, e.g., ultra pure synthetic fused silica.
Therefore, the deciding parameter over the net deviation is the relative angle. Hence, a precise optomechanical design
for mutual orientation and rotation of the wedges is necessary. The precision and accuracy of the mechanical system
determine the degree of control upon the wedge rotation. Commercial rotary holders perform rotations in the order of
minutes or even seconds of arc, however, most of them do not permit change parameters freely. Next, we show our
proposed to control the wedges by servo motors controlled with Adaline Neural Network
8
.
Figure 2 shows a schematic drawing of the servo motion system that controls the angular position of the prisms. Each
prism is mounted in a plastic base attached to the tension pulley that is driven by the servo motor. Speed motion and
position are controlled by the servo motor is controlled by a servo amplifier. Some of the main specifications of the
servo motor used are its size down to 40 mm square, fast response with rapid acceleration and mechanical time constants
down to 2 msecs, maintenance-free 3 phase brushless construction, peak torque ratings up to 7.2 Nm, ratings up to 250
Nm. Encoder commutation facilitates sinewave drive technology to provide smooth operation and high resolution up to
131,072 counts/rev.
Servo motor 1
Encoder 1
Prism system
Tension pulley
Servo motor 2
(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Opto-mechanical device for the prism system. (a) View of the hole system, (b) Cross-section showing the prisms
position.
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-3
4. PID CONTROLLER
Servomotors are extensively used to perform highly precise positioning systems. Servo control in general can be divided
into two fundamental classes of problems. The first class deals with command tracking. It addresses the question of how
well does the actual motion follow what is being commanded. The typical commands in rotary motion control are
position, velocity, acceleration and torque. A second problem deals with the disturbance rejection characteristics of the
system. Disturbances can be anything from torque disturbances on the motor shaft to incorrect motor parameter
estimations used in the feed-forward control. Here, P.I .D. (Proportional Integral and Derivative position loop) control
is used to combat these types of problems. In contrast to feed-forward control, which predicts the needed internal
commands for zero following error, disturbance rejection control reacts to unknown disturbances and modelling errors.
Complete servo control systems combine both these types of servo control to provide the best overall performance. Even
though the fundamental concepts of servo motion control have not changed significantly in the last years, new
technologies using servo systems have improved the accuracy on control positioning. Improve transient response times,
reduce the steady state errors and reduce the sensitivity to load parameters
9
.
Controllers are designed to eliminate the need for continuous operator attention. Controllers are used to automatically
adjust some variable to hold the measurement (or process variable) at the set-point. The set-point is where you would
like the measurement to be. Error is defined as the difference between set-point and measurement. The variable being
adjusted is called the manipulated variable which usually is equal to the output of the controller. The output of PID
controllers will change in response to a change in measurement or set-point . Manufacturers of PID controllers use
different names to identify the three modes. Depending on the manufacturer, integral or reset action is set in either
time/repeat or repeat/time. One is just the reciprocal of the other. Note that manufacturers are not consistent and often
use reset in units of time/repeat or integral in units of repeats/time. Derivative and rate are the same.
Figure 3 shows, using Laplace notation, the basic components of a servo motor system. The servo drive, modeled as
G(s), receive a voltage command. It can be approximated as the unity for the relatively lower motion frequencies. The
servomotor is modelled as a lump inertia, J, a viscous damping term, b, and a torque constant, Kt. The lump inertia term
is comprised of both the servomotor and load inertia. I t is also assumed that the load is rigidly coupled such that the
torsional rigidity moves the natural mechanical resonance point well out beyond the servo controllers bandwidth. This
assumption allows us to model the total system inertia as the sum of the motor and load inertia for the frequencies we
can control. Somewhat more complicated models are needed if coupler dynamics are incorporated.
The output of the P.I .D. controller is a torque signal. I ts mathematical expression in the time domain is
given in eq. (5).
)
+ + =
dt
t error d
K dt t error Ki r error K t D I P
d p
)) ( (
) ( )) ( ( ) .( . . (5)
p
K
s
i
K
s K
d
t
K
1
( ) s G
Servo
Drive
t
K
Js
1
s
1
b
E E
d
T
Risley
Prism
System
P.I.D. Control
Speed
and
Position
E
Servo
Motor
Fig. 3. Basic P.I.D. servo control configuration
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-4
5. TUNING THE P.I.D.
One of the problems in servo control is to accomplish the tuning of controllers PID. There are logic programmable
controls on the market that permit the use of mathematical tools using digital controls for servo-drivers. A PID tuning
controller with a linear adaptive element is compounded by a servo-driver of type multi-axle programmed on its own
programming language, it makes use of learning algorithms with NNA, it learns to make the tuning simpler and
automatic in its function, no only of constants. Nets with a RNAs process discreet signals, in order to use adaptive
filters, the analog signal converts by analogical to digital to digital values, and processed by a microprocessor.
Tuning methods are divided in open loop and feedback loop methods, where the Ziegler and Nichol method (feedback
loop) is widely used. Theoretical PID control structures become very useful since Minorsky publications in 1922. In
spite of the plenty of work published about PID control systems are still used practically in most of the industry
controlling more than the 95 % of the feedback control process.
Tuning a PID controller involves adjustment of three parameters: the proportionality constant K
I
, the integral time
constant T
I
and the anticipative time constant T
d
. First to all, the dynamic parameters of the process must be identified in
order to obtain a reliable and robust performance of those parameters of the system for. The variables of in loop control
are the reference value wish r(t), the output c(t) from a transmitter that generates the wish value, the feedback signal y(t)
the output of the controller that modifies the final control element, ands the error x
W
(t) defined as the difference between
the real value and the expected value.
The dynamics of the process is often identifying analytically and experimentally. The analytical method must solve the
mathematical expression that describes the system as a function of time. This method is very complex in most of the real
systems applications. In most cases mathematical functions are included o digital controllers and the distributed control
due to their calculus power.
The experimental method, the static and dynamical features are obtained from direct measurements, where the Ziegler
and Nichols is commonly used in two ways limit gain and the reaction curve
10
. Ziegler and Nichols technique is one of
the first tuning methods applied to the feedback loop systems. The tuning process can be achieved following a two step
procedure.
Step 1: Set K
i
and K
d
to zero. Excite the system with a step command. Slowly increase K
P
until the shaft position begins
to oscillate. At this point, record the value of K
p
and set K
o
equal to this value. Record the oscillation frequency, fo.
Step 2: Set the parameters of the PID controller according with the table 1.
Table 1. Parameter of the controller: using the limit gain method.
Action of control K
p
K
i
K
d
Proportional-Integral-Derivative 0.6 K
O
2 f
O
K
p
/8K
d
6. NEURAL NETWORK ADALINE
The first meaning for Adaline was ADAptive LInear NEuron but its meaning change to o Adaptive LInear Element and
only has one neural element; it has been used to solve linearly separable systems
6
. This one element adds the product of
the input vectors and its weights applying an output function in order to obtain one value response. Using a NNA, it is
possible to establish a proceeding to modify the weight function and get a correct value to a given input. Signal to be
proceeded by a NNA must be digitalized with sample times and the variables are the set point the reference signal w(t), a
feedback signal x(t) (the output of system) then is possible to asses the error e(t), that correspond to the input G
C
(s). The
PID controller generates an output g
C
(k), where Kp is the proportional gain, Ti is the integration time, and Td is the
derivative time, where the discrete representation of the output of the PID controller in the time domain is given by
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-5
( )
|
|
.
|

\
|

+ + =

=
_
Ts
e e
K Ts e K k e K k g
n n
n
j
D j I p C
1
1
) ( (8)
The tuning process for discrete signals using the Ziegler-Nichols method is similar to those before explained and as a
result only preserve the error and proportional constant K
P
as is shown next.
( ) | | ( ) ) ( ) ( ) ( k w k x K k x K k g
P W p C
= = (9)
At the output of the ADALINE controller we obtain the signal that is represented by vector u(k) that becomes in the
sequential input u(k-1), generating the knowledge matrix W(Kp). This matrix information is useful to calculate the new
Adaline control outputs. Then, the constant for the conventional system are obtained applying the limit gain method
regarding the transfer function of he servo-driver. The learning rule of Adaline needs aprori information about the input
parameters. Once the NNA have learned, the error is reduced by an o factor, at the same time, the weights of the system
change according with the input values. The weights are renewed every time until the system converges.
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
) (
) (
2
k e
k p
k p k p k e
k e
T
o o = = A (10)
The best selection of o, helps to manage the training process stability and velocity of convergence. Stability condition in
achieve if 0.1 > o < 2. The selection of o does not depends on the input magnitude, every weight actualized is collinear
respect the inputs parameters and its magnitude is inversely proportional to ( )
2
k p . Figure
p
K
s
i
K
ff
K
s K
d
Transfer
Function
of
Servo
System
E E E
Adaline auto-tuning
Speed
and
Position
( )
( )
d d
i i
p
T K
T K
K
Control
Signal
P.I.D. Control
Encoder
position
Fig. 4. Basic P.I.D. with Adaline servo control configuration
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-6
'
I
d

I

l
I
O
I
O
A

k

p

p

.

I
j
C
l
A

f lm .
I
7. RESULTS
In order to implement the rotary holder control, it was regarded a security factor ranging from 40% to 100% in some
cases, e.g. load effects. We used two servomotors with resolution 131,072 pulses per revolution without considering the
reducer factor of 100 due to use a pulley system.
Typically, servo systems are first tuned with a step input in order to get a feel for the system response. Once this is done,
the user now is often interested in how their actual motion will behave. At this point, the user must decide on the nature
of the velocity profile. By far the most common velocity profile is the trapezoid. This is due to the relative ease of
calculating all the state variables needed for motion: position, velocity and acceleration. As the need for smoother
accelerations and decelerations becomes greater, either "S" profiles or cubic splines are often employed. For the
purposes of our investigation, we will focus on the use of a simple trapezoidal velocity profile. The matrix of weight is
formed applying the conditions before exposed tuning with the Adaline. Figure 5 shows the response to the step function
applying the auto tuner ADALINE. Note that the velocity does not change, but the position is corrected smoothly.
Figure 6 shows two pictures of the rotary system. At left, show the lateral view and a perspective view on the right.
Fig. 5. Response to the step function applying the auto tuner Adaline.
Fig. 6. Pictures of the rotary prism system.
Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-7
8. CONCLUSIONS
Risley prism system has been designed, assembled and tested using a P.I.D. control with an Adaline neural network.
P.D.I. tuning process was implemented in a rotary holder servo-controller using the neural network Adaline. Algorithms
were programmed in Motion Arquitect Program (c) in order to facilitate the introduction of constants. PID tuning can be
used in SISO process automatically. The rotary holder can be programmed using exact ray trace equations until find the
proper position of the prism system in order of perform scanning applications.
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Proc. of SPIE Vol. 6422 64220X-8