A study toward the development of an electromechanical poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene–chlorofluoroethylene) buckling membrane actuator

Abstract

Buckling membrane micro-actuators based on relaxor ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene–chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF–TrFE–CFE)) were fabricated and actuated near their resonant frequency. The devices produced displacements of several microns under applied biases of ⩽60 V μm−1. In this buckling actuator configuration the electrodes are located only at the membrane’s circumference and do not coat the entire membrane. Besides for preserving the optical transparency of the polymer, the critical advantage of this configuration is that the unique electro-mechanical properties of the polymer can be exploited without constriction of displacements by the metal electrodes which have a comparatively higher Young’s modulus.Electrical characterization of P(VDF–TrFE–CFE) thin films was performed through the use of micro-capacitor test structures. Dielectric properties were examined as a function of temperature (25–115 °C), frequency (6 kHz–2 MHz) and processing conditions, most notably thermoplastic nano-imprint lithography (T-NIL).