An electrostatic suspension system using piezoelectric actuators

• Published in: Smart materials and structures 2012-02, Vol.21 (2), p.25012-1-8
• Main Authors: Le, T T, Jeon, J U, Woo, S J, Higuchi, T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Contact; Electric potential; Electrodes; Electrostatics; Exact sciences and technology; General equipment and techniques; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Movements; Physics; Piezoelectric actuators; Suspension systems; Transducers; Voltage
• ISSN: 0964-1726; 1361-665X
• DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/21/2/025012

We present a novel electrostatic suspension system that is cost-effective and has good suspension performance. The main feature of the system is that movable electrodes are employed to implement a stable suspension instead of the stationary electrodes employed in previous suspension systems. In this system, the movable electrodes are powered by constant voltage, and their movements are controlled by piezoelectric actuators with rapid deformation characteristics, which allow the electrostatic forces exerted on a suspended object to be controlled by variation of the gap length between the suspended object and the movable electrodes. We describe the structure, operational principle, dynamic model, and a stabilization method of the suspension system, followed by an experimental setup. Experimental results demonstrate the complete suspension of a 4 in silicon wafer without any mechanical contact.