Fabrication and testing of a micro superconducting actuator using the Meissner effect

The fabrication and testing of a micro superconducting actuator is reported. The levitation and driving were achieved by the Meissner effect and the Lorentz force. For the stator, a YBaCuO superconducting film and etched-copper film in polyimide was used. For the slider, an Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet was used. Noncontact and remote measurements were made of the levitation heights by using a laser displacement meter. Measurements were made on the slider´s movement by using image-processing techniques. The results show that the 8 mg slider stably levitated 0.99 mm above the stator at 280 G. The levitation height was decreased by the increase of the weight of the slider and the attractive driving force. The levitation height exhibits a hysteresis characteristic as a function of the applied magnetic field