Premium
Stretchable Metallic Electrodes for Electroactive Polymer Actuators
Author(s) -
Habrard Florian,
Patscheider Jörg,
Kovacs Gabor
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201300569
Subject(s) - materials science , microstructure , composite material , electrical conductor , nanometre , electrode , grain size , sputter deposition , characterization (materials science) , sputtering , actuator , thin film , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , chemistry , engineering
This paper describes preparation and characterization of silver electrodes deposited by magnetron sputtering with high stretching capability while maintaining their electrical conductivity. It is shown that tuning the microstructure and grain size of silver films of 30 nm thickness deposited on silicone membranes is an effective way to extend the stretching limit until rupture to 13%. It is shown that films with an open pores microstructure and small grains of 18 nm do not develop cracks that are observable by AFM, while dense films with grains of ca. 25 nm develop crack networks with individual crack widths of several hundred nanometers, causing conductive failure already at 4% strain.