In this manuscript, we demonstrate the effect
of levitation (out-of-plane motion) in capacitive comb drive
actuators. This motion can be used for additional control along
the orthogonal axis of the preferred motion. Minimization of
unwanted vertical actuation can be achieved while simultaneously
enhancing lateral displacement. This is the result of
increased electromechanical coupling that extends the lateral
range of the linear comb drive for the same actuation voltage.
The comb drive’s appeal is the linear dependency of the
capacitance with respect to displacement. As a result of this