Flexible and stretchable electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators

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 self-switching, 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.     

Effects of electrodes on performance figures of thin film bulk acoustic resonators

The effects of mechanical losses and elastic properties of the electrodes on the performance figures of a thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) are analyzed by numerical simulation. Results indicate that the material loss of the electrode has no visible effect on the characterization of the effective electromechanical coupling factor, k(eff)2. The acoustic impedance ratio of the electrode to the piezo-film dominantly determines the behaviors of the k(eff)2 variation with the electrode thickness. The resonance Q value, Q(s), of the FBAR closely relies on the material Q values of film and of electrodes as expected. Besides, the variation of Q(s) versus the thickness of the electrodes crucially depends on the acoustic impedance ratio as well. Especially, three characteristic parameters, i.e., the maximum value of k(eff)2, the sectional mass ratio of the electrode to the piezo film corresponding to the maximum k(eff)2, and the tolerance range of the ratio to keep k(eff)2 near the maximum, are calculated for some typical samples. These results would be useful for optimizing FBAR designs and performances.     

球形腔聚焦换能器的非线性声场建模

球形腔聚焦换能器是一种特殊形式的聚焦换能器。为理论证实球形腔聚焦换能器能突破传统超声聚焦在聚焦精度和聚焦增益上的限制,采用Westervelt非线性方程并结合时域有限差分法,建立了球形腔聚焦换能器的非线性声场的数值模型。数值计算了直径为120 mm的0.6 MHz球形腔聚焦换能器的非线性声场,并与传统球壳形聚焦换能器进行了对比。当激励声压为100 kPa时,球形腔聚焦换能器与同尺寸壳形聚焦换能器相比,焦点正声压增益提高约8.5倍,且焦域精度更高,-6 dB聚焦区域在z方向减小约20倍,达到次波长尺度。研究表明球形腔聚焦换能器在高强度聚焦超声精细治疗上具有潜在的应用前景。     

Uncertainty propagation analysis of dielectric elastomer with interval parameters

正In the recent years,dielectric elastomers(DEs) have become the most popular actuators owing to their special properties such as large deformation,light weight,flexibility,and chemical and biological compatibility in the field of soft material[1].A DE consists of a polymer film sandwiched between two compliant electrodes.When a voltage is applied     

Magnetic properties of Terfenol-D film on a compliant substrate

Substrate thickness effects on the magnetization and magnetostriction of Terfenol-D films was studied by using a nonlinear constitutive model combined with the Timosheko elastic theory. Results show that characteristics of Terfenol-D films on compliant substrates are different from those of their bulk counterpart. Tunable properties can be obtained by adjusting the film/substrate thickness ratio.     

Resonant properties of a dielectric slab with equidistant strip electrodes

It is shown that a slab with a high dielectric constant and electrodes arranged in the form of narrow parallel equidistant strips may serve as a simple and effective generator of electromagnetic radiation for the very high frequency region. Its resonant properties may serve for accurate measurements of the dielectric constant in that frequency region.     

Bistability of a compliant cavity induced by acoustic radiation pressure

We report on the first observation of multiple-order bistability due to acoustic radiation pressure in a compliant acoustic cavity formed between a spherical ultrasonic transducer immersed in water and the free liquid surface located at its focus. The hysteretic behavior of the cavity length, observed both with amplitude ramps and frequency sweeps, is accurately described using a one-dimensional model of a compliant Fabry-Pérot resonator assuming the acoustic radiation pressure to be the only coupling between the cavity and the acoustic field.     

基于电磁超声换能器的火车轮探伤研究

利用电磁超声探伤方法对检测火车轮表面及近表面缺陷进行实验探究,从而保证车轮质量,避免事故发生。文章介绍了火车车轮电磁超声探伤的原理和方法。根据电磁超声表面波辐射扩散角的分布情况,得出利用电磁超声表面波进行车轮踏面探伤的可行性。将制作的小巧换能器探头与便携式电磁超声探伤仪配合,能够实现对车轮的快速探伤检测。通过大量的车轮探伤实验,检出了典型车轮踏面缺陷。根据检测波形特点并结合生产工艺情况,分析得出产生缺陷的原因。研究表明:电磁超声无损检测方法能够快速、有效检出车轮踏面缺陷。     

Simulation of the acoustic field emitted from medical linear transducer in a heterogeneous tissue

A numerical model is developed to simulate the acoustic field in heterogeneous tissue from a medical linear transducer.The coupled full-wave equation for nonlinear ultrasound is solved using a staggered-grid finite difference time domain method.The distribution of acoustic pressure and power in human abdominal wall with heterogeneities in sound speed,density,and nonlinear parameter are obtained.Compared with homogeneous medium,when sound speed in tissue is uniform and density unchanged,the acoustic energy decreases only1.8 dB in the focal region;when density in tissue is uniform and sound speed unchanged,the energy decreases 3.8 dB in the focal region,which is almost the same as heterogeneous tissue.Thus,the primary factor of the aberration of focused beam is the heterogeneous distribution of the tissue sound speed.     

非均匀组织医学超声发射声场仿真

为了分析医学超声在非均匀组织中的分布特性,建立了超声发射声场的计算模型。采用交错网格有限差分法对耦合超声非线性方程进行数值求解,获得了声速、密度及非线性参数非均匀分布情况下人体腹壁组织内的超声声场分布数据。同均匀介质相比:当声速均匀而密度非均匀时,声束仍聚焦良好,焦点处声能下降了1.8 dB;当密度均匀而声速非均匀时,声束发散严重,焦点处声能下降了3.8 dB,下降程度与非均匀组织接近。组织声速在空间分布的非均匀性是导致聚焦声束能量分布畸变的主要原因。     

An experimental investigation of electromechanical response in a dielectric acrylic elastomer

Electric-field-induced transverse-strain response was investigated in a dielectric acrylic elastomer at 1 Hz. The strain was observed to be proportional to square of the electric field strength within the measurement range (0 to 2 MV/m). Elastic compliance of the elastomer was measured as a function of frequency and was found to exhibit strong frequency dependence between 1 and 10 Hz. It was indicated that the field-induced-strain response in the acrylic elastomer originates primarily from the Maxwell stress effect. The experimental data obtained at low field and frequency were used to estimate the electromechanical behavior at higher field and frequency. PACS 77.65.-j; 77.84.Jd; 81.05.Lg     

Numerical analysis of isothermal space-charge relaxation in a dielectric with blocking electrodes

For a dielectric with blocking electrodes, the system of continuity and Poisson's equations is numerically solved in the nonsteady case. The distribution of the mobile-charge concentration and field inside an electrically neutral dielectric at various times, both after the potential is switched on and after the short-circuiting the latter. The time dependences of the isothermal polarization and depolarization currents are calculated. It is established, in particular, that these dependences for a dielectric with one type of mobile charge carrier are not approximated by an exponential.     

All-fiber acousto-optic tunable notch filter with a fiber winding driven by a cuneal acoustic transducer

We report a type of all-fiber acousto-optic tunable notch filter consisting of a cuneal acoustic transducer and a fiber winding of four unjacketed single-mode fibers. With -32 dB peak rejection efficiency and 178 nm tunable range of the central wavelength, all of the tunable characteristics of the all-fiber acousto-optic tunable filter are kept. In addition, the structure is versatile and convenient for use in building other complicated filters. As an example, a coarse comblike filter has been built by adjusting the axial strains of the unjacketed fibers.     

A conical piezoelectric transducer with integral sensor as a self-calibrating acoustic emission energy source

The experimental results of a conical piezoelectric transducer with integral backing sensor as a self-calibrating simulated acoustic emission (SAE) energy source are presented. It has been shown that there is a negative linear relationship between the energy of SAE signal detected by the backing sensor and the relative strength (signal energy) of SAE source in the structure detected by a reference sensor under different transducer-to-structure coupling efficiencies, with AC drives of the same wave packet, frequency and peak amplitude to excite the conical transducer as a SAE source at all the investigated frequencies over the frequency range of interest in AE measurements (nominally from 50 kHz to around 1 MHz). This should enable the relative strength of the SAE source in a structure to be determined using the SAE measurement from the backing sensor for the selected electrical inputs to the conical transducer, and hence to remove the concerns about inconsistent transducer-to-structure coupling affecting the relative strength of the SAE source for calibration.     

Acousto-optic interaction in a non-homogeneous acoustic field excited by a wedge-shaped transducer

The article is devoted to theoretical analysis of light diffraction in a non-homogeneous acoustic field created by a wedge-shaped piezoelectric transducer. Relationships describing electrical, acoustic and acousto-optic properties of the acousto-optic cell are derived in the approximation of a small thickness of the piezoelectric plate. Principal characteristics of acousto-optic interaction are examined such as dependences of the light diffraction efficiency on the phase mismatch and the acoustic wave amplitude. It is shown that the acoustic field has a complicated amplitude-phase structure changing with the acoustic frequency. It is demonstrated that the diffraction efficiency in the Bragg regime can approach 100% in spite of a noticeable phase mismatch. The appropriate optimal values of ultrasound power and incidence angles of light are found.     

Wide angular range operation of a dielectric multilayer film with a photonic-crystal-type defect

Light can tunnel through a high-reflectivity dielectric multilayer film when a photonic-crystal-type defect is introduced in the structure, which is useful for optical signal processing. We consider chirped structures with a defect in layer thickness for which high reflectivity is achieved over a broad wavelength range except within a narrow spectral window. The useful transmission window, while it shifts toward shorter wavelengths as the angle of incidence of the light beam is increased, does not, in general, survive; i.e., transmission disappears progressively. We show that wide angular range operation can, however, be achieved by a proper design of the chirped structure. Analytical expressions for the design parameters are derived on the basis of a semi-infinite photonic crystal model. Theoretical reflectance spectra of defect SiO2/TiO2 chirped multilayer films are presented and discussed in terms of the dispersion of the electromagnetic radiation modes of the finite photonic crystal. These devices offer a simple way to mechanically tune (through inclination of the film) the wavelength transmitted from a fixed white-light beam.     

Buckling of a stiff thin film on a compliant substrate under anisotropic biaxial prestrain

The structure of stretchable electronics is based on the buckling of a thin film on a compliant substrate. Under anisotropic biaxial prestrains, this structure may buckle into several patterns, including cylindrical, checkerboard, and undulating patterns. The displacement and energy of each pattern are deduced analytically. By comparing their minimum potential energies, the critical buckling condition of each pattern is determined. After secondary bifurcation, the checkerboard pattern occurs just above the critical prestrains, but the undulating pattern dominates other regions. The buckling amplitude and wavenumber of the undulating pattern are shown under biaxial prestrains. Even if the structure is under equi-biaxial prestrains, it may buckle into an asymmetric undulating pattern.     

Optimization of the parameters of an acoustic delay line by applying a rear acoustic load to a piezoelectric transducer

The operation of a microwave piezoelectric transducer whose piezoelectric element is connected through a number of intermediate layers with two acoustic loads is investigated. One of the loads is the medium in which the transducer excites elastic waves, and the other (the rear load) serves for the formation of the transducer’s characteristics. On the basis of the previous numerical analysis of the transfer coefficients for the direct and inverse transformations, the frequency dependences of the transformation efficiency and the standing-wave ratios in the transmission line (the direct transformation) and in the sound duct (the inverse transformation) are calculated. The theoretical curves that illustrate the effect of the rear load on the characteristics of a specific multilayer transducer operating in the decimetric wave range with a matching LC circuit are discussed.     

Transient acoustic field radiated by a thickness—shear mode transducer

The acoustic field generated by a thickness—shear mode transducer is theoretically analysed by an approximate model to find the origin of the longitudinal pulse in the signal received by the same transducer. It is believed to arise from the edge longitudinal wave.