Stretchability of Silver Films on Thin Acid-Etched Rough Polydimethylsiloxane Substrates Fabricated by Electrospray Deposition

Abstract

This paper investigates the fabrication of Ag films through the electrospray deposition (ESD) technique on sub-millimeter-thick acid-etched rough polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates having both low and high modulus of elasticity. The main focus of the study is on the stretchable behavior of ESDdeposited Ag nanoparticles-based thin films on these substrates when subjected to axial strains. Experimental results suggest that the as-fabricated films on thin acid-etched rough low modulus PDMS has an average stretchability of 5.6% with an average increase in the resistance that is 23 times that of the initial resistance at electrical failure (complete rupture of the films). Comparatively, the stretchability of Ag films on the high modulus PDMS was found to be 3 times higher with 4.65 times increase in the resistance at electrical failure. Also, a high positive value of the piezoresistive coefficient for these films suggests that the resistivity changes during stretching, and thus deviation from the simplified models is inevitable. Based on these results, new models are presented that quantify the changes in resistance with strain.