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Back and Top Views of the KPC101 K-Cube
(See the Pin Diagrams Tab for More Information)

Features

• Combined Piezo Controller and Strain Gauge Reader
• Compact Footprint: 60.0 mm x 60.0 mm x 47.0 mm
• Closed- or Open-Loop Operation
• Selectable High-Voltage Piezo Drive Output Range: 75 V or 150 V
• On-Unit Control and LCD Display 
  • Voltage (Open-Loop) and Position (Closed-Loop) Control and Readout
  • Force Sensor Readout
  • Jogging Functionality with Voltage/Position Presets
  • Zeroing and Feedback Mode
• -10 to +10 V Analog Input (SMA Female, See Pin Diagrams Tab for Details)
• Monitor Output (SMA Female, See Pin Diagrams Tab for Details)
• Digital Input and Output Triggers for Piezo Scanning Applications
• Full Kinesis^® Software Control Suite (See Kinesis Software Tab for Details)
• Software Compatible with other Kinesis Controllers for Integrated Systems Development
• Single-Channel and Hub-Based Power Supply Options Available Separately
• Multi-Axis Expansion Using USB Controller Hubs (Sold Separately)
• Magnetic, Clip-On Optical Table Mounting Adapter Included

The KPC101 K-Cube Combined Piezo Controller and Strain Gauge Reader is a part of Thorlabs' Kinesis^® line of high-end, compact motion controllers. This controller combines the functionality of a high-voltage piezo amplifier and a strain gauge reader, which allows both open-loop and closed-loop control of piezo driven devices. This single-channel controller is compatible with Thorlabs' bare piezo stacks, piezo-equipped actuators, and piezo-driven mirror mounts, as well as piezo-driven single- and multi-axis flexure stages. For mounts with BNC connectors, a BNC to SMC adapter is required. Note that actuators and mounts with piezo inertia motors are not compatible with the KPC101 controller and should be driven with a Piezo Inertia Motor Controller.

Strain-gauge equipped piezo stacks and actuators (such as Item #s DRV120, DRV517, PAZ005, PAZ009) can be operated in closed-loop for high-precision position control. For compatibility with strain-gauge equipped bare piezos and to amplify small strain-gauge signals, Thorlabs offers the AMP002 Strain-Gauge Pre-Amp Circuit, which includes solder points to connect the four strain-gauge leads and a 9-pin D-sub cable for connecting to the KPC101 K-Cube. Alternatively, the K-Cube can be used with the FSC102 or FSC103 force sensors to provide high-sensitivity force measurements.

The unit has a highly compact 60.0 mm x 60.0 mm x 47.0 mm footprint, allowing it to be positioned close to the motorized system for added convenience when manually adjusting motor positions using the top panel controls. Tabletop operation also allows minimal drive cable lengths for easier cable management. Each unit contains a front-located power switch that, when turned off, saves all user-adjustable settings. Please note that this switch should always be used to power down the unit. For convenience, a 1.5 m long Type A to Type Micro B USB 3.0 cable is included with the KPC101 cube.

Thorlabs designed this K-Cube to encapsulate full piezo control and feedback capability in an extremely small package. To support a wide variety of piezo devices, the output range can be set to 75 V or 150 V with the option to further limit output in software. The resolution of the digitally encoded adjustment pot is easily altered to provide very accurate positioning control. Direct hardware control of the high-voltage output can be facilitated using the -10 to 10 V analog input connector (EXT IN, see Pin Diagrams tab for details). In open-loop mode the input driving voltage on EXT IN directly drives the cube's high voltage amplifier and the output is proportional to the input voltage, while in closed-loop mode this voltage controls the position. In either mode, the voltage present on EXT IN (either positive or negative) is added to the software-defined voltage or position. The low-voltage output connector (MONITOR) allows for easy monitoring of the high-voltage output (e.g., when using an oscilloscope). Programmable waveform generation capability combined with triggering inputs and outputs makes this unit particularly well suited for use in piezo scanning applications.

Embedded software allows this unit to be fully operated using the on-unit menu button, LCD display, and control wheel or using external trigger signals. The unit displays both voltage output (open-loop) and position (closed-loop) read out. In addition to these on-unit controls, USB connectivity provides simple PC-controlled operation with the Kinesis software package.

The Kinesis Software features new .NET controls which can be used by 3rd party developers working in the latest C#, Visual Basic, LabVIEW™ or any .NET compatible languages to create custom applications. For more details on the software package, please see the Kinesis Software tab.

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The KCH601 USB Controller Hub with installed K-Cube and T-Cube modules. One KAP101 adapter plate is used for the T-Cube on the hub.

Optical Table Mounting Plate
Each unit comes with a mounting plate that clips onto the base of the controller. The plate contains two magnets for temporary placement on an optical table and two counterbores for 1/4"-20 (M6) cap screws for a more permanent placement on the tabletop. Please see the Specs for a mechanical drawing of the table mounting plate and the Mounting Options tab for how to mount the plate.

Power Supply Options
The preferred power supply (single channel or hub-based) depends on the end user's application and whether you already own compatible power supplies. To that end and in keeping with Thorlabs' green initiative, we do not ship these units bundled with a power supply.

Multiple units can be connected to a single PC by using the KCH301 or KCH601 USB Controller Hubs, available below, for multi-axis motion control applications. The KCH301 allows up to three T- or K-Cube controllers to be used while the KCH601, shown to the right, allows up to six controllers to be used.

All power supply options compatible with the KPC101 Piezo-Strain Controller can be found below.

K-Cube Mounting Options

Two options are available to securely mount our K-Cube controllers onto an optical table. An optical table mounting plate, provided with every K-Cube, allows for a single controller to be attached to an optical table. Alternatively, three- and six-port USB controller hubs are offered (sold separately) that can mount and power our K-Cube controllers. These options are described in further detail below.

Optical Table Mounting Plate
Each K-Cube unit comes with a mounting plate that clips onto the base of the controller, as shown in the animation to the right. The plate contains two magnets for temporary placement on an optical table and two counterbores for 1/4"-20 (M6) cap screws for a more permanent placement on the tabletop. Please see the Specs tab for a mechanical drawing of the table mounting plate.

Kinesis USB Controller Hubs
Multiple units can be mounted and connected to a single PC by using the KCH301 or KCH601 USB Controller Hubs. They each consist of two parts: the hub, which can support up to three (Item # KCH301) or six (Item # KCH601) K-Cubes or T-Cubes, and a power supply that plugs into a standard wall outlet. K-Cubes simply clip into place using the provided on-unit clips, while current- and previous-generation T-Cubes require the KAP101 Adapter Plate, shown in the animation below. The hub vastly reduces the number of USB and power cables required when operating multiple controllers.

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Piezo Controller as Part of a Closed-Loop System

Piezo Controller in a Beam Stabilization Setup

Active beam stabilization is often used to compensate for beam drift (unintended beam pointing deviations) in experimental setups. Drift can be caused by insecurely mounted optics, laser source instabilities, and thermal fluctuations within an optomechanical setup. In addition to correcting for setup errors, active stabilization is frequently used in laser cavities to maintain a high output power or used on an optical table to ensure that long measurements will take place under constant illumination conditions. Setups with long beam paths also benefit from active stabilization, since small angular deviations in a long path will lead to significant displacements downstream.

An example of a beam stabilization setup is shown in the schematic to the left. A beamsplitter inserted in the optical path sends a sample of the beam to a quadrant position sensor that monitors the displacement of the beam relative to the detector's center. (For optimal stabilization, the beamsplitter should be as close as possible to the measurement.) The quadrant detector outputs an error signal in X and Y that is proportional to the beam's position. Each error signal is fed into a channel of a piezoelectric controller that steers the beam back to the center of the quadrant sensor.

The setup illustrated here stabilizes the beam to a point in space. In order to stabilize the beam over a beam path, four independent output channels are required (i.e., at least two piezoelectric controllers), as are two mirror mounts with piezo adjusters, two position sensors, and two position sensor controllers. Suggested electronics for a beam stabilization setup are given in the table below.

Thorlabs' Kinesis^® software can be used to control devices in the Kinesis or APT™ family, which covers a wide range of motion controllers ranging from small, low-powered, single-channel drivers (such as the K-Cubes and T-Cubes) to high-power, multi-channel, modular 19" rack nanopositioning systems (the APT Rack System).

The Kinesis Software features new .NET controls which can be used by 3rd party developers working in the latest C#, Visual Basic, LabVIEW™ or any .NET compatible languages to create custom applications. Low level DLL libraries are included for applications not expected to use the .NET framework. A Central Sequence Manager supports integration and synchronization of all Thorlabs motion control hardware.

By providing these common software platforms, Thorlabs has ensured that users can easily mix and match any of the APT and Kinesis controllers in a single application, while only having to learn a single set of software tools. In this way, it is perfectly feasible to combine any of the controllers from the low-powered, single-axis to the high-powered, multi-axis systems and control all from a single, PC-based unified software interface.

The software packages allow two methods of usage: graphical user interface (GUI) utilities for direct interaction with and control of the controllers 'out of the box', and a set of programming interfaces that allow custom-integrated positioning and alignment solutions to be easily programmed in the development language of choice.

Software

Kinesis Version 1.14.47

The Kinesis Software Package, which includes a GUI for control of Thorlabs' Kinesis and APT™ system controllers.

Also Available:

• Communications Protocol

Kinesis GUI Screen