ELECTROSTATICALLY DRIVEN ROTOR ON CONDUCTIVE LIQUID RING BEARINGS

This paper presents an electrostatically side-driven rotary stage featuring ionic liquid rings as both mechanical bearings and electric connections between the rotor and the substrate. An SOI-based device with multiple through-silicon vias has been fabricated and self-assembled by the liquid rings. The device has operated successfully by applying sequential voltages of 50 VDC between the rotor and the stators placed outside the rotor. Separately, the electric transmission has been verified by powering an LED on a rotating rotor (> 300 rpm) from the substrate. This is the first report of an electrostatically actuated microdevice with a liquid bearing and also the first report of a direct power transmission onto an infinitely rotating microdevice.

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