This paper deals with improvement in performance of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) linear motor. The relationship between the motor output force and silicon slider design was investigated. The slider that has the smaller projections and uniform distribution of the projections exhibited higher performance. By using the optimized silicon slider, the motor was driven at the output force of 6.4 N. A larger silicon slider, which can perform larger output force, was also discussed, for a larger slider has larger contact area. When a silicon slider which is longer along SAW propagation is driven, dump of SAW due to driving the slider is observed.