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This paper shows that a highly deformable capacitor made of a soft dielectric and two conformal electrodes can switch between two states discontinuously, by a first-order transition, as the total charge varies gradually. When the total charge is small, it spreads evenly over the area of the capacitor, and the capacitor deforms homogeneously. When the total charge is large, it localizes in a small region of the capacitor, and this region thins down preferentially. The capacitor will survive the localization without electrical breakdown if the area of the electrode is small. Such a bistable system may lead to useful devices.

Organic field-effect transistors with a polymeric electret as gate insulator and fullerenes as a molecular semiconductor were fabricated. We observed an amplification of the drain–source current Ids on the order of 104 upon applying a gate voltage Vg. Reversing the gate voltage Vg features large metastable hysteresis in the transfer characteristics Ids(Vg) with a long retention time. The observation of a switchable channel current Ids is proposed to originate from charge storage in the organic electret. As such, this device is a demonstration of an organic nonvolatile memory element switchable with the gate voltage.

When exposed to sufficiently high electric fields, polymer-foam electret materials with closed cells exhibit ferroelectric-like behavior and may therefore be called ferroelectrets. In cellular ferroelectrets, the influence of the cell size and shape distributions on the application-relevant properties is not yet understood. Therefore, controlled inflation experiments were carried out on cellular polypropylene films, and the resulting elastical and electromechanical parameters were determined. The elastic modulus in the thickness direction shows a minimum with a corresponding maximum in the electromechanical transducer coefficient. The resonance frequency shifts as a function of the elastic modulus and the relative density of the inflated cellular films. Therefore, the transducer properties of cellular ferroelectrets can be optimized by means of controlled inflation. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics

Charged closed-cell microporous polypropylene foams are shown to exhibit piezoelectric resonance modes in the dielectric function, coupled with a large anisotropy in the electromechanical and elastic material properties. Strong direct and converse dynamic piezoelectricity with a piezoelectric d33 coefficient of 140 pC/N at 600 kHz is identified. The piezoelectric d33 coefficient exceeds that of the ferroelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride by a factor of 5 and compares favorably with ferroelectric ceramics. Applications of similar concepts should provide a broad class of easily fabricated “soft” piezoelectric materials.

Nanoemulsion polytetrafluoroethylene (nano-PTFE) is a promising low-dielectric-constant polymer, which can be prepared in thin-film form by spin-on techniques. Similarities and differences of the nano-PTFE material to the well-known class of PTFE polymers with respect to morphology and dielectric and electret characteristics are discussed. Nano-PTFE shows excellent dielectric properties up to 300 °C, and a charge stability that compares favorably with other members of the PTFE class. Nano-PTFE enlarges the family of PTFE materials and may become interesting for applications in microelectronics and miniaturized electret devices.

The cross-linking low-dielectric-constant polymers benzocyclobutene (BCB) and perfluorocyclobutene (PFCB) are identified as film electrets with excellent charge stability, comparable to the members of the polytetrafluoroethylene family. BCB and PFCB films can be easily prepared on substrates by spin coating. The onset of molecular motion at the high- and low-temperature glass-like transitions is revealed by dielectric dilatometry. BCB and PFCB electret films exhibit remarkable stability regarding both negative and positive charging. They enlarge the family of charge electrets and may thus become interesting for miniaturized electret devices.

We have investigated three different quasi‐phase‐matching approaches to second‐harmonic generation (SHG) in DANS (4‐dimethylamino‐4′‐nitrostilbene) poled polymer channel waveguides at 1.5 μm. Periodic photobleaching and periodically poled electrodes deposited directly on the film produced unacceptably high propagation losses. However, periodic electrodes on the substrate gave low losses and useful SHG.

Electron beams with an energy of 10 keV were employed for selectively poling only the lower part of a typical nonlinear optical guest/host polymer at a temperature of 90 °C. The resulting dipole orientation was examined by means of electro‐optical measurements and thermally stimulated depolarization, while the nonuniform charge and polarization profiles were probed with laser‐induced pressure pulses and thermal waves. The concept of nonlinear optical frequency conversion with simultaneous mode conversion is described as an example for the advantages of such a selective poling process.

Quinacridone is a five-ring hydrogen-bonded molecule analogous in structure and size to the well-known organic semiconductor pentacene. Unlike pentacene, quinacridone has limited intramolecular π-conjugation and becomes highly colored in the solid state due to strong intermolecular electronic coupling. We found that quinacridone shows a field-effect mobility of 0.1 cm2/V·s, comparable to mobilities of pentacene in similarly prepared devices. Photoinduced charge generation in single-layer quinacridone metal-insulator-metal diodes is more than a hundred times more efficient than in pentacene devices. Photoinduced charge transfer from quinacridone to C60 is not effective, as evidenced by measurements in heterojunctions with C60. Hydrogen-bonded organic solids may provide new avenues for organic semiconductor design.

Electrically tuned photonic crystals are produced by applying fields across shear-assembled elastomeric polymer opal thin films. At increasing voltages, the polymer opal films stretch biaxially under Maxwell stress, deforming the nanostructure and producing marked color changes. This quadratic electro-optic tuning of the photonic bandgap is repeatable over many cycles, switches within 100 ms, and bridges the gap between electro-active materials and photonic crystals.

Dielectric elastomer generators convert mechanical into electrical energy at high energy density, showing promise for large and small scale energy harvesting. We present an experiment to monitor electrical and mechanical energy flows separately and show the cycle of energy conversion in work-conjugate planes. A specific electrical energy generated per cycle of 102mJ/g, at a specific average power of 17mW/g, is demonstrated with an acrylic elastomer in a showcase generation cycle. The measured mechanical to electrical energy conversion efficiency is 7.5%. The experiment may be used to assess the aptitude of specifically designed elastomers for energy harvesting.

Tofail et al.3 have found that the dipole of HA is the hydroxyl (OH) ion, which lies along the crystallographic c-axis within the tunnel formed by phosphate (PO 4 ) tetrahedra. In adjacent tunnels, the OH ions could point in a parallel direction or in an anti-parallel one. We believe that the high-temperature calcination crystallized the HA film on silicon and converted most of the OH pairs to a parallel configuration. Thus the HA developed a domain structure with randomly oriented dipoles. Upon cooling, sufficient domains reoriented in polarity so as to result in a net polar structure. This is due to the crystalline character of the silicon substrate and texturing. The photocurrent is caused by the silicon alone.

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are promising structural units for artificial muscles and robotic elements. Understanding the safe and failure mode regimes of such DEAs is essential for controlling the actuator. We develop an electrical characterization technique for obtaining information on the transient strain in the actuator and analyze the behavior of the actuator in safe and failure operation regimes, in particular in the pull-in instability mode. Additionally, the technique allows the strain-dependent measurement of the electrode resistance. The current measurement based technique can be also applied for actuator control with feedback loops.

Cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets are flexible transducer materials with dominant longitudinal piezoelectricity. They can be used for transient pressure sensing applications, due to the low cost of the sensor material. The authors show that ferroelectrets allow for the production of keyboards and touch pads with a customizable layout. Large area resistive electrodes on the ferroelectret with electronics at the edges avoid the preparation of complex sensor matrices. A touch pad of 10×10cm2 area was tested by applying a force of 1.7N on an area with a diameter of 5mm in a grid matrix with 23×23 elements.

Polymer foams are used in the automotive and construction industries for thermal insulation, vibration attenuation, and pressure absorption, due to their lightweight structure, thermal characteristics and low manufacturing costs. These foams have higher elasticity in their cross sections than bulk polymers, which makes them the preferred mount for capacitive sensor arrays. The authors describe a flexible pressure-sensitive surface mounted on packaging foam. The elastic properties of the foam are presented along with the sensor array’s weight sensitivity. The authors illustrate an inventory management application where objects on display can be detected through their weights.

Cellular polypropylene ferroelectrets are useful for broadband airborne ultrasound generation and detection up to the fundamental thickness extension resonance. The authors show that the coupling of ferroelectrets to air alters the electromechanical resonance of the foam. In an acoustical cavity, Fabry-Perot resonances are obtained, which is in excellent agreement with the plane wave model calculations. For material assessment in airborne ultrasound applications, a figure of merit is used based on the electromechanical coupling factor and acoustical impedance of the material. The good coupling of ferroelectrets to gases results from the small acoustical impedance of the material.

Nonlinearities in ferroelectret polymer foam capacitors arise from voltage-dependent thickness changes. Such thickness changes are caused by the converse piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects in these soft materials. The authors show that the higher harmonics of the current response during application of a sinusoidal voltage to ferroelectret capacitors provide information on the elastic and electromechanical properties of the foam. The authors demonstrate the potential of this versatile measurement technique by investigating the temperature dependence of the piezoelectric response and by monitoring the changes in the elastic and electromechanical properties during inflation of cellular polypropylene.

Ferroelectrets generate an electric field large enough to modulate the conductance of the source-drain channel of a thin-film field-effect transistor. Integrating a ferroelectret with a thin-film transistor produces a ferroelectret field-effect transistor. The authors made such transistors by laminating cellular polypropylene films and amorphous silicon thin-film transistors on polyimide substrates. They show that these ferrroelectret field-effect transistors respond in a static capacitive or dynamic piezoelectric mode. A touch sensor, a pressure-activated switch, and a microphone are demonstrated. The structure can be scaled up to large-area flexible transducer arrays, such as roll-up steerable compliant sensor skin.

The converse electromechanical response in an organic Schottky contact follows a power law dependence S∝Vα of the mechanical strain S versus the applied voltage V, with an exponent α=1.5, in between linear piezoelectricity and quadratic electrostriction. The experimental result is discussed within the frame of a model, where the Coulomb attraction between charged impurities present in the depletion zone of the Schottky contact and the charges accumulated in the metal at the interface with the semiconductor is considered. Electromechanical responses of such devices appear to be of fundamental interest for the investigation of nonuniform electric field distributions and for potential practical applications as electromechanical transducers.

High-performance pentacene organic thin-film transistors with double layers of the terpolymer electret poly(vinylidene fluoride/tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene) and the polymer poly(vinyl cinnamate) as a gate dielectric are reported. The electret is a high-k dielectric polymer with a static dielectric constant of e=14. The transistors show an intrinsic field-effect mobility in the range of μi=1cm2∕Vs and an on- to off-current ratio of about 105. High-k polymer gate dielectrics seem promising for organic nonvolatile memory and sensor field-effect transistors.