An electrostatic master–slave mechanism with force enhancement by external inductors for cancellation of self- and parasitic capacitances

This paper reports a development of an electrostatic master–slave mechanism: a passively synchronized pair of electrostatic motors. The synchronization of the positions of the two motors and the transmission of forces from one motor to the other, are realized by the position dependence of the induced voltages on the electrodes of two sliders. The forces of the mechanism are enhanced by three external inductors. The inductors cancel self- and parasitic capacitances of the slider electrodes, and the cancellation increases the voltages induced on the electrodes. A simple model is provided to explain the principles of the mechanism and the theory of the force enhancement. A prototype using a pair of three-layered electrostatic film motors was fabricated. The synchronization of the two motors with a velocity of 20 mm/s and an acceleration of 0.16 m/s2 was demonstrated under the input voltage of 660 V/5.95 kHz, and the maximum force that could be transmitted was 0.6 N.