P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) Actuators with Inkjet Printed Electrodes

Inkjet printing offers an additive manufacturing method for the production of thin films. A variety of inkjet printed materials can be printed, including conductive and electroactive materials. Existing inkjet printed ferroelectric polymer actuators all utilize silver conductive layers and P(VDF-TrFE) for the electroactive layer. This thesis will describe the manufacture of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) actuators with inkjet printed carbon black electrodes. A conductive carbon black film is printed on a resin coated PET substrate to form the actuator bottom electrode. P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) is spin coated on top of the electrode to form the active ferroelectric material, before finally another carbon black layer is printed on top to produce the top electrode. To validate the choice of electrode material, a selection of conductive inks are tested to compare conductivity and quality of deposition when printed with a commercial printer. The ease of printing and post processing is also compared to determine what ink can be used as an electrode material whilst requiring the fewest and quickest manufacturing steps. From this a model is produced to determine the maximum actuator operation frequency depending on electrode material. Produced actuators achieve 206 microns steady state deflections at 300 V and 3 mm at resonance. This shows an 89.4% improvement in strain per volt compared to similar inkjet manufactured P(VDF-TrFE) actuators in literature