Precise positioning using electrostatic glass motor

This paper reports the application of electrostatic glass motors to precise positioning. It will be shown that by drawing advantage of a property of glasses, the relatively stable charge arrangements on its surface induced by an electrostatic field, sub-micrometric and sub-arc sec displacements can be achieved. Based on this principle, a stage featuring two linear and one rotative degree-of-freedom will be proposed. Its potential is experimentally determined on one rotative degree-of-freedom. The main advantages of the proposed novel form of positioning are its long stroke, compactness and simplicity.