The new INRiM nanoangle generator

Abstract

At the angle metrology laboratory of the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM, formerly IMGC), an instrument to generate very small angles has been recently developed. It is a sine-bar angle generator based on an elastic hinge and a piezocapacitive device. The facility can be used to calibrate precise angle measuring instruments (levels, autocollimators, etc) in a range of 120 µrad with an uncertainty of about 20 nrad and a sensitivity of fractions of a nanoradian. The working principle and metrological characterization are presented.