Ion-implanted compliant electrodes used in dielectric electroactive polymer actuators with large displacement
Abstract(#br)Metal ion implantation is shown here as an effective technique to fabricate highly compliant electrodes at room temperature on polymer substrates. By implanting 5 keV gold ions in polydimethylsiloxane we have fabricated micron-scale electrodes that conduct at 175% strain, have low surface resistance (\u003c 1 kΩ/square) and negligible thickness (50 nm). These electrodes have been cycled over 10 5 times to 30% strain with minimal change in electrical characteristics, and find applications in flexible electronics, polymer sensors and actuators.