Fault-Tolerant Electro-Responsive Surfaces for Dynamic Micropattern Molds and Tunable Optics.

ABSTRACT: Electrically deformable surfaces based on dielectric elastomers have recently demonstrated controllable microscale roughness, ease of operation, fast response, and possibilities for programmable control. Potential applications include marine anti-biofouling, dynamic pattern generation, and voltage-controlled smart windows. Most of these systems, however, exhibit limited durability due to irreversible dielectric breakdown. Lowering device voltage to avoid this issue is hindered by an inadequate understanding of the electrically-induced wrinkling deformation as a function of the deformable elastic film thickness. Here we report responsive surfaces that overcome these shortcomings: we achieve fault-tolerant behavior based on the ability to self-insulate breakdown faults, and we enhance fundam

SUBMITTER: Lin IT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5624962 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature