Novel multilayer electrostatic solid state actuators with elastic dielectric (Invited Paper)

Schlaak, Helmut F.; Jungmann, Markus; Matysek, Marc; Lotz, Peter

doi:10.1117/12.604468

Cited by 83 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Consequently, electrodes with loose powders are mainly found in combination with adhesive acrylic elastomers (such as VHB from 3M) as dielectric layer: because this material is intrinsically sticky, the conductive particles become bound to its surface. A notable exception where loose graphite powder electrodes are used in combination with a silicone elastomer is in the multilayer process of Prof. Schlaak's group [28][29][30][31]. But as each electrode is effectively covered by the next dielectric layer, one cannot strictly speak of loose powders for this particular case.…”

Section: Carbon Powdermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For better uniformity, spray coating can be used in combination with a shadow mask to apply a thin uniform layer on the elastomeric membrane. For their automatized stack process, Schlaak et al have tested spray coating through a shadow mask of both dry graphite powder and graphite in suspension in isopropanol [28][29][30][31]41]. With their process, which alternates between the application of a silicone layer by spin coating, the heat-activated cross linking of the silicone, and the subsequent deposition of the electrodes (figure 4), they have developed an efficient production method, which allows building actuators of up to 100 layers with a production time of 5 minutes per layer, thus demonstrating that carbon electrodes can also be used for larger scale and commercial applications.…”

Section: Shadow Maskingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are flexible lightweight actuators that can generate strains of over 100%. They are used in applications ranging from haptic feedback (mm-sized devices), to cm-scale soft robots, to meter-long blimps. DEAs consist of an electrode-elastomer-electrode stack, placed on a frame. Applying a voltage between the electrodes electrostatically compresses the elastomer, which deforms in-plane or out-of plane depending on design. Since the electrodes are bonded to the elastomer, they must reliably sustain repeated very large deformations while remaining conductive, and without significantly adding to the stiffness of the soft elastomer. The electrodes are required for electrostatic actuation, but also enable resistive and capacitive sensing of the strain, leading to self-sensing actuators. This review compares the different technologies used to make compliant electrodes for DEAs in terms of: impact on DEA device performance (speed, efficiency, maximum strain), manufacturability, miniaturization, the integration of self-sensing and selfswitching, and compatibility with low-voltage operation. While graphite and carbon black have been the most widely used technique in research environments, alternative methods are emerging which combine compliance, conduction at over 100% strain with better conductivity and/or ease of patternability, including microfabrication-based approaches for compliant metal thin-films, metal-polymer nano-composites, nanoparticle implantation, and reel-to-reel production of µm-scale patterned thin films on elastomers. Such electrodes are key to miniaturization, low-voltage operation, and widespread commercialization of DEAs.

show abstract

Section: Carbon Powdermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Shadow Maskingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The main motivation for their miniaturization is to generate a high electric field at a moderate driving voltage across a small gap. Multi-layer stacking of thin films has been demonstrated for this purpose [2]. However, constituent materials of the soft electrodes limit further miniaturization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, constituent materials of the soft electrodes limit further miniaturization. The materials used for making soft electrodes contain rigid conductive particles and volatile binders, for example carbon grease or silver-loaded gels [1,2]. The conductive particles of several microns in size limit the soft electrode from being made thinner than the particle size.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actuated elastomers with rigid vertical electrodes

Lau

Goosen

Keulen

et al. 2006

J. Micromech. Microeng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents a novel design of actuated elastomers using rigid, vertical standing electrodes. The electrodes of high rigidity are designed to have small width, small gaps and large depth in order to produce large electrostatic forces at a moderate voltage, as well as to reduce the constraining effect on the soft elastomers. This novel design embodies lateral stacking to accumulate small strain into an adequate displacement for micro-actuation. Analytical and numerical analyses are performed to evaluate the force-displacement characteristics of the elastomer actuators. It is shown that actuation of the novel design is not limited by the electrostatic pull-in instability, and it is capable of travelling a large range at a high electric field. In addition, feasibility of fabrication processes is studied. It is shown that lateral stacking can readily be realized by filling liquid elastomers into deep, narrow and vertical trenches. A theoretical benchmark comparison with a conventional air-gap electrostatic comb drive indicates that the new elastomer actuator promises great flexibility, large attraction force and robustness against shock and dust blockage.

show abstract

“…Typically, these devices are composed of a large number of films to obtain a large cumulative displacement. Three types of stacking have been proposed: multi-layer stacking (Schlaak et al, 2005;Lotz et al, 2011), where separate EAP films are stacked on top of each other, stacking in a helical structure (Carpi et al, 2005), and a folded dielectric elastomer (Carpi et al, 2007), where an EAP strip is coated with flexible electrodes and folded to a stacked shape. Practically, demonstrated that such a device composed of ∼ 350 dielectric films is capable of lifting a weight of 2.1 [kg] to a height 2.5 [mm].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stacked dielectric tubes with electromechanically controlled radii

Cohen

2017

International Journal of Solids and Structures

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work examines the features and capabilities of a tube comprised of stacked cylindrical dielectric layers separated by flexible electrodes with the applicative aim of electrically controlling the inner radius. The study begins with the analysis of the non-homogenous electromechanical response of a single-layer dielectric tube according to well-established coupled models. Two boundary conditions are examined -traction free boundaries and a fixed outer radius. The advantages and limitations of each boundary conditions are discussed. It is shown that dielectric tubes subjected to traction free boundaries experience instabilities, an effect that can be avoided by fixing the outer surface. Next, the electromechanical behavior of a stacked cylindrical actuator comprised of dielectric tubes that are mechanically connected in series and electrically connected in parallel is determined under the two boundary conditions discussed above. It is shown that the stacking of cylindrical layers increases the range of available inner radii at the cost of design limitations. Interestingly, it is found that mounting layers on a stacked cylindrical actuator may lead to instabilities even if the outer radius is fixed.

show abstract

Novel multilayer electrostatic solid state actuators with elastic dielectric (Invited Paper)

Cited by 83 publications

References 0 publications

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

Actuated elastomers with rigid vertical electrodes

Stacked dielectric tubes with electromechanically controlled radii

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About