摘要 |
A planar micro-motor and method of fabricating it are disclosed. The planar micro-motor comprises a stator (31,38) supported by the substrate (40) and preferably comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced micro-coils (31-38) lying in a first plane. The micro-motor also has rotor (10) comprising a plurality of magnetic regions (18,23) circumferentially spaced about a shaft (17) for rotation in a second plane parallel to, and spaced from, the first plane. Actuating means selectively energize subsets of the micro-coils (31-38) to generate electromagnetic fields acting on the magnetic regions (18-23) of the rotor (10) across the planar gap sandwiched between the micro-coils and the rotor. The amount and direction of rotation of the rotor (10) can be controlled. The planar micro-motor can be employed as a stepper motor. It can be fabricated using microfabrication techniques. <IMAGE> |