Surface micromachined linear electrostatic stepper motor

A linear electrostatic stepper motor has been designed and fabricated in a single mask surface micromachining process. It consists of two drive units that alternately generate a step to move the shuttle. The friction and adhesion in the clamps has been measured. A friction coefficient of 0.8±0.3 has been found. The adhesion in the clamp is just low enough to release the clamping shoe. Stepping cycles have been performed successfully to obtain a deflection of 15 μm, with steps in the order of 2 μm. The deflection is limited by the suspension. The generated force equals 3 μN at 40 V driving voltage