DRIVING METHOD FOR ELECTROSTATIC ACTUATORS

摘要

An electrostatic actuator device and method for actuating the device. The device includes a pair of actuator plates having electrodes for conducting a voltage potential thereto and at least one of the pair bein g movable with respect to the other. The plates are positioned to move upon application of a voltage potential through electrodes attached thereto. A driving means provides a voltage potential to the electrodes to cause the movement of the at least one plate. The driving mean s produces compound AC signal with rise/fall sections at least to 100 times (preferably more than twenty times) the mechanical response tim e of the actuator. The preferred AC signals are selected from square-wave, sine wave, triangle wave and mixtures thereof. The preferr ed circuit produces rise/fall sections that are a quarter of a full period of the AC wave signal, and only the nominal section of the compound AC signal is used for driving the actuator.