The authors report an electrothermal actuator, which is fabricated by involving carbon nanotube network into the silicone elastomer. The actuators exhibit excellent performances as good as normal dielectric elastomer actuators while working under much lower voltages (e.g., 1.5Vmm−1). They are longitudinal actuators and there is no need for stacking or rolling sheets of materials. In addition, they can satisfy the demand of different voltage applications ranging from dozens of voltages to thousands of voltages by using different carbon nanotube loading composites. Visible maximal strain of 4.4% occurs at an electric power intensity around 0.03Wmm−3.

We report charge-ordered Bi0.4Ca0.6MnO3 thin films with charge-ordering temperature near room temperature, and observation of large photoinduced resistivity changes in these films associated with melting of the charge ordering by visible light. Films grown under small compressive strain exhibit the largest photoinduced resistivity changes. The lifetime of the photoinduced low-resistance state is on the order of half a minute. These photoinduced resistivity changes in thin films of Bi0.4Ca0.6MnO3 make them very promising for photonic device application.