Non-contact Linear Mechanism Based on Superconducting Levitation for Cryogenic Environment

A non-contact linear mechanism based on stable superconducting magnetic levitation with a long permanent magnet as a slider and two fixed superconducting disks which define the slide way has been designed, built and tested. The slider can be moved stably along a stroke of 11.5mm by supplying a low current in the coils located at the end of the stroke. The levitation remains stable thanks to the superconductor disks providing a reliable mechanism for linear displacement in a cryogenic environment. The response is linear with a sensitivity of 522m/mA for displacements lower than 6mm. Pitch, yaw and roll have been measured demonstrating an overall good performance. Roll and yaw were always below 300rad, that is one order of magnitude lower than the pitch (4,500rad). A decrease of the pitch has been obtained by modifying some geometrical parameters of the mechanism.