Dielectric elastomer actuators for tactile displays

Matysek, Marc; Lotz, Peter; Winterstein, Thomas; Schlaak, Helmut F.

doi:10.1109/whc.2009.4810822

Cited by 61 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For better uniformity, spray coating can be used in combination with a shadow mask to apply a thin uniform layer on the elastomeric membrane. For their automatized stack process, Schlaak et al have tested spray coating through a shadow mask of both dry graphite powder and graphite in suspension in isopropanol [28][29][30][31]41]. With their process, which alternates between the application of a silicone layer by spin coating, the heat-activated cross linking of the silicone, and the subsequent deposition of the electrodes (figure 4), they have developed an efficient production method, which allows building actuators of up to 100 layers with a production time of 5 minutes per layer, thus demonstrating that carbon electrodes can also be used for larger scale and commercial applications.…”

Section: Shadow Maskingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

2012

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Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are flexible lightweight actuators that can generate strains of over 100%. They are used in applications ranging from haptic feedback (mm-sized devices), to cm-scale soft robots, to meter-long blimps. DEAs consist of an electrode-elastomer-electrode stack, placed on a frame. Applying a voltage between the electrodes electrostatically compresses the elastomer, which deforms in-plane or out-of plane depending on design. Since the electrodes are bonded to the elastomer, they must reliably sustain repeated very large deformations while remaining conductive, and without significantly adding to the stiffness of the soft elastomer. The electrodes are required for electrostatic actuation, but also enable resistive and capacitive sensing of the strain, leading to self-sensing actuators. This review compares the different technologies used to make compliant electrodes for DEAs in terms of: impact on DEA device performance (speed, efficiency, maximum strain), manufacturability, miniaturization, the integration of self-sensing and selfswitching, and compatibility with low-voltage operation. While graphite and carbon black have been the most widely used technique in research environments, alternative methods are emerging which combine compliance, conduction at over 100% strain with better conductivity and/or ease of patternability, including microfabrication-based approaches for compliant metal thin-films, metal-polymer nano-composites, nanoparticle implantation, and reel-to-reel production of µm-scale patterned thin films on elastomers. Such electrodes are key to miniaturization, low-voltage operation, and widespread commercialization of DEAs.

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Section: Shadow Maskingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

2012

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“…Another approach for a DEA-based tactile interface has been developed at TU Darmstadt, based on stacked compressive actuators 5,54,55 . The device consists of a totally soft portable media player control interface capable of detecting user input through capacitive self-sensing (c.f.…”

Section: A Haptic Interfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soft and stretchable transducers are key elements in many areas including soft robotics [1][2][3] , haptic devices for touch interaction with humans [4][5][6][7] , tunable optics [8][9][10][11] , energy harvesting [12][13][14] , and microfluidics [15][16][17] . Compared to their rigid counterparts, soft actuators present many unique properties that enable a broad new range of applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small, fast, and tough: Shrinking down integrated elastomer transducers

Rosset

Shea

2016

Applied Physics Reviews

128

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We review recent progress in miniaturized dielectric elastomer actuators, sensors and energy harvesters. We focus primarily on configurations where the large strain, high compliance, stretchability and high level of integration o↵ered by dielectric elastomer transducers provide significant advantages over other mm or µm-scale transduction technologies. We first present the most active application areas, including: tunable optics, soft robotics, haptics, micro fluidics, biomedical devices and stretchable sensors. We then discuss the fabrication challenges related to miniaturization, such as thin membrane fabrication, precise patterning of compliant electrodes, and reliable batch fabrication of multilayer devices. We finally address the impact of miniaturization on strain, force and driving voltage, as well as the important e↵ect of boundary conditions on the performance of mm-scale DEAs.

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“…Otro tipo de actuador que reproduce sensación de contacto suave por presión se constituye de Polímero Electroactivo (Electro Active Polymer, EAP) (Matysek et al, 2009), el cual presenta un cambio de volumen al aplicarle un campo eléctrico de alto valor, del orden de los kilovoltios. El EAP se encuentra en forma de gel, el cual se encapsula para aislarlo (Bolzmacher et al, 2004).…”

Section: Vibración Sostenida O Por Pulsacionesunclassified