Design and Fabrication of a Precision Alignment System and Package for a Two - Photon Fluorescence Imaging

A compact, lightweight precision alignment system and package for an endomicroscope was designed and fabricated. The endomicroscope will consist of a millimeter-scale fiber resonator and a two-axis silicon optical bench. The alignment system provided five degrees of freedom and was designed to align the fiber resonator with the microchip with a resolution of one micron. The alignment system consisted of a system of ultra-fine screws and two compliant mechanisms to deamplify the motion of the screw. Finite element analysis was performed to optimize the compliant mechanisms for the desired transmission ratio of 20:1. The alignment system was fabricated and testing showed that the transmission ratios were lower than expected (18.6 for one compliant mechanism and 2.68 for the other). Testing also showed that the alignment system met the functional requirements for the ranges of motion. Thesis Supervisor: Martin L. Culpepper Title: Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering