New Low-Voltage Electrostatic clutches Employing a Special Class of Dielectric Materials

The operation of several electrostatic devices depends upon the electrostatic forces which tend to hold together a metal member and a closely adjacent semiconducting member when a voltage is applied between them. In this paper it is shown that if the semiconducting member is replaced by a dielectric member and particularly by a piezoelectric member, electrostatic forces may be generated at low applied voltages and exploited for the construction of low voltage clutches or similar electrostatic devices.