DIRECT ELECTROSTATIC LEVITATION AND PROPULSION OF SILICON-WAFER

A new type of contactless wafer manipulator, featuring ''direct electr ostatic levitation and propulsion of silicon wafer (DELP-SW),'' has be en successfully developed, The novel aspect of this manipulator is tha t a silicon wafer can be directly levitated and driven via electrostat ic forces. In this paper, a brief review of basic principles is presen ted. This is followed by a description of the structure of a prototype DELP-SW mechanism, including electrode design, position feedback cont rol method, driving principle, and the operational procedure. Experime ntal results, which demonstrate completely contactless transportation of an 8-in silicon wafer, are also presented.