Conducting polymer microactuators operating in air

Authors

Gursel Alici, University of WollongongFollow
Valerie Devaud, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
Philip Renaud, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
Geoffrey M. Spinks, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

31900

Publication Details

Alici, G., Devaud, V., Renaud, P. & Spinks, G. Maxwell. (2009). Conducting polymer microactuators operating in air. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 19 (2), 1-9.

Abstract

We report for the first time on microsized conducting polymer actuators, which operate in air and in liquids. These actuators are potentially useful for a wide range of applications from biotechnology to microrobots. Furthermore, the actuators are fabricated using an excimer laser ablation technique, which does not require clean-room facilities and can provide high throughput production. Preliminary characterization results presented show that the tip displacement of the microactuators is linearly proportional to the magnitude of the input voltage.