Manipulating Microparticles by the Electrostatic Force

It is difficult to pick up a microparticle and deposit it at a specified location. The purpose of this project is to explore how to control the electrostatic force to attract and repel microparticles. The challenge is in reproductibility of electrostatics, because different reactions can result from the environment and the conductivity of the particles. First we will investigate parameters to make a reliable Van de Graaff electrostatic charge generator. This generator will be used with various probes to study the induced forces on dielectric and conduction microparticles. The results of this research will be used in the future to develop a novel electrostatic microscale device on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip to manipulate microparticles using a DC voltage