Electrostatic micromanipulator with 6 DOF

A new mechanism of an electrostatic micromanipulator which has 6 DOF is proposed. Its main features are summarized as follows. First, it can be constructed in a very compact form, since the actuator system is fabricated and assembled through the photoetching process. Second, it can move along three axes (6 DOF) and rotate around each axis, and has high resolution with no backlash. In the experiments, a movable range of 3.15 micron and a rotatable angle of 1.1×10^-2 degree are attained with an applied voltage of 350 V. A simulation result for dynamics to estimate the motion of the micromanipulator is shown