Multi layered relaxor ferroelectric polymer actuators for low-voltage operation fabricated with an adhesion-mediated film transfer technique

We designed and fabricated multilayered relaxor ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-clorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)] actuators in this study. To minimize the driving voltage of the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuator, which produces bending deformation, we designed a multilayered structure and analyzed the structure using composite beam theory. We developed a new adhesion-mediated film transfer technique to fabricate 1.5 mu m-thick P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) films and laminate them onto a micromachined silicon substrate. Metal electrodes were deposited on top of each P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) film to obtain a multilayer structure with alternating electrodes. We show that with an applied voltage of only 40V, the multilayered P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuators fabricated in this study produced deflections of about 9 mu m, and their transient behavior faded out within 10 ms. When the actuators were integrated onto a varifocal liquid-filled microlens, an optical power change of more than 50 diopters was obtained. This is the first report of a method to fabricate and stack 1-2 mu m-thick PVDF-based films. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.