A three-degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF) MEMS electrostatic piston-tube actuator is disclosed. The actuator includes two structures. And a plurality of fixed piston-like electrodes attached to the base and forming a stator of the actuator. The second structure comprising a plurality of moving, tube-like electrodes attached to the body of the superstructure and forming the rotor of the actuator. The rotor is attached to the stator through a mechanical spring. The rotor of the actuator provides 3-DOF motion, including vertical translation and biaxial rotation about the axes of the structures. The present piston-tube actuator utilizes a configuration that enables the use of large area electrodes and thus provides a high output torque that enables rotation of the rotor or a high output force that enables translation of the rotor.
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