A 4mm diameter, electrostatically-levitated, capacitance-driven ring motor has been developed for use as a gyroscope sensor for control systems for cars. The first version of the device rotates at up to 20,000 rpm and is suspended with 2.5 micron-wide axial and 5 micron-wide radial gaps between itself and its surrounds. A second version is 1 mm in diameter and rotates at up to 100,000 rpm. First test samples have already been released and full scale production is expected to start in Spring 2005. The devices were revealed by Professor Masayoshi Esashi of the New Industry Creation Hatchery Centre in Tohoku, Japan, at a recentnanotechnology seminar in Cambridge. The Centre is part of Tohoku University which has a linking arrangement with Cambridge.
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