Electrostatic forces have an advantage of directly levitating not only non-ferromagnetic metals but also semi-conductors, such as silicon wafers, and dielectric materials like glass. This paper describes the characteristics of electrostatic forces and electrostatic suspension system, followed by the basic principle of 1-DOF(degree of freedom) electrostatic suspension system, and the structures of electrodes-for-suspension and voltage supplying methods to the electrodes in 1-DOF model. This paper also discuss about the minimum number of electrodes needed to control n-DOF motion of the suspended object and represents some desirable electrode patterns to stabilize the 6-DOF motion of the object. In the near future, electrostatic suspension system is expected to be applied to industrial manufacturing processes, for example, to the manufacture of semiconductor devices and/or flat panel display devices.
