Papers by Keyword: PBII

Abstract: A series of a-C:H films have been prepared by plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) with acetylene on AISI 321 substrates. The effect of negative bias pulse on the characteristics of these films was investigated. The structures of the films were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. The surface hardness was measured by microindentation tests. The results indicated that the characteristics of these films are strongly depended on the negative bias pulse. When the bias pulse ranges from -10kV to -40kV, the films are typical diamond like carbon (DLC) films, while the films deposited at -5kV are polymer films. The peak intensity ratio of the D-band to that of the G-band (ID/IG) of the DLC films changes with the negative bias pulse. The minimum value of ID/IG (1.02) was gotten at -10kV.

Abstract: One of the key factors to obtain large displacements and high efficiency with dielectric electroactive polymer (DEAPs) actuators is to have compliant electrodes. Attempts to scale DEAPs down to the mm or micrometer range have encountered major difficulties, mostly due to the challenge of micropatterning sufficiently compliant electrodes. Simply evaporating or sputtering thin metallic films on elastomer membranes produces DEAPs whose stiffness is dominated by the metallic film. Low energy metal ion implantation for fabricating compliant electrodes in DEAPs presents several advantages: a) it is clean to work with, b) it does not add thick passive layers, and c) it can be easily patterned. We use this technology to fabricate DEAPs micro-actuators whose relative displacement is the same as for macro-scale DEAPs. With transmission electron microscope (TEM) we observed the formation of metallic clusters within the elastomer (PDMS) matrix, forming a nano-composite. We focus our studies on relating the properties of this nano-composite to the implantation parameters. We identified the optimal implantation parameters for which an implanted electrode presents an exceptional combination of high electrical conductivity and low compliance.