Design and analysis of a corona motor with a novel multi-stage structure

A corona motor at the centimeter scale is presented to improve the output performance, which features a novel multi-stage structure of staged stators and rotors that produces more charges for generating larger electrostatic force. The analytical model derived from the distributions of the electric field and current density predicts well the performance characteristics of the proposed motor. A simple and cheap fabrication process using the laser-micromachining technology and low-density carbon fibers enables the design to achieve high torque-to-weight ratios and power-to-weight ratios. The experimental results show that the output performance is greatly improved by the multi-stage structure compared to the traditional single-stage motor.