Magnification of Transportation Range Using Non-Contact Acoustic Levitation by Connecting Vibrating Plates

Abstract

The authors have identified a new acoustic phenomenon by which an object weighing several kilograms and having a planar shape can be levitated by radiation pressure above a set of vibrating plates. We propose to use this phenomenon for levitation and transportation systems for moving silicon wafers and liquid crystal devices (LCDs). In this report, the authors describe a method that increases the capability of the device to carry large objects by placing two vibrating plates in parallel and enlarges the transportation range by placing the vibrating plates in a series. The results show that a large object such as an LCD 250 mm square can be transported long distances limited only by the number of plates placed in series.