Patent ID: 7884326

Claim:
Manipulator for rotating a sample holder round a rotation axis and translating said sample holder along a translation axis, said sample holder showing at least one outer surface with rotational symmetry round the rotation axis, the so-named driven surface, the manipulator comprising: a base, multiple members, each member showing a surface, the so-named driving surface, each of the driving surfaces movable with respect to the base along the translation axis, and actuators to move the members with respect to the base, characterized in that the actuators are linear actuators equipped to cause a movement along the translation axis, at least two driving surfaces face each other, and the driving surfaces are equipped to clasp the at least one driven surface between them, as a result of which the sample holder rotates round the rotation axis when the at least two driving surfaces are moved along the translation axis over an equal distance in opposite directions, and the sample holder is translated parallel to the translation axis when the driving surfaces are moved along the translation axis over an equal distance in the same direction, and as a result of which the rotation axis and the translation axis are perpendicular to each other.