Transport of particles is fundamental to many instruments including airborne samplers, particle sorters, and electrostatic cleaning apparatuses. Specifically, the particle diameter range from 1 to 10 .mu.m is of significant importance because many airborne pollutants such as biological spores, dust particles, and chemical agents fall into this geometric size range. In addition, other airborne pollutants, orders of magnitude smaller than this size range, have also been dispersed in air with the aid of larger carrier particles which are in the 1-10.mu.m size scale. Therefore, such a particle transport device becomes a vital component of a wide range of instruments.
Electrostatic particle transportation for 1-10 .mu.m sized particle has been an unresolved task for engineers. Devices for manipulation and transport have been developed for larger size ranges of particles, but not in the 1 to 10 .mu.m particle scales. Surface forces and particle charging become difficult issues in successfully engineering a robust particle transport mechanism. For example, Novick, Hummer, and Dunn have noted that the sub-10 .mu.m range presents a different regime where surface adhesive forces and particle charging hinder the successful engineering of a robust particle transport system. See V. J. Novick, C. R. Hummer, and P. F. Dunn, "Minimum dc electric field requirements for removing powder layers from a conductive surface," Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 65, 3242-3247, 1989. Previous MEMS work only reported success on moving larger particles (over 30 .mu.m) with voltages typically in the kV regime. See F. M. Moesner, T. Higuchi, "Devices for Particle Handling by an AC Electric Field," IEEE Conference Proc. MEMS 1995.