Linear strain maximization in MEMS-elastomer hybrid configurations for isotropic electromagnetic modulations in stretchable electronics

Abstract

We analyzed several model designs that have been subjected to incremental increase in the isotropically distributed strain for an elastomer component which is integrated into a four-actuator microelectromechanical system (MEMS) with a hybrid configuration in this study. Based on the fundamental configuration in which a cross-shaped polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure was placed above the symmetrically designed MEMS with a limited 40.96% degree of isotropy (DOI), our analysis showed that retreating the location of the applied forces away from the center induced free-form PDMS deformation and increased the DOI by 36.48%. Continuous expansion of the DOI was realized by either connecting the geometrically dicontinuous PDMS (for an additional 7.20% improvement) or removing constraints from its right-angled shape (for an additional 7.52% improvement). Further analysis showed that an integrated configuration based on an eight-actuator MEMS exhibited a 100% DOI in the active area, which can be applied to support various electromagnetic modulations that require linear and isotropic strain operations as stretchable electronics. In addition to mechanical analyses, color filtering based on surface plasmon resonance was performed to evaluate potential improvements in terms of the positive relationship between the DOI and color purity. An example of further enhancement of the strain by increasing the forces applied to the MEMS is provided, which proves that a doubled linear and isotropic strain could be induced in the hybrid configuration compared to that generated by the existing configuration.