Electromechanical characterization and laser structuring of Ni-based sputtered metallic compliant electrodes for DE applications

In this paper, novel nickel based metallic compliant electrodes for dielectric elastomer (DE) membranes are presented. Due to the very low thickness (in the order of 10 nm) and high compliance, the developed electrodes are suited for the design of innovative DE micro-actuator/-sensor applications. Sputtering technology is used to deposit either a thin metal or a sandwich of nickel and carbon on a pre-stretched PDMS foil. After the coating process, the geometry of the conductive electrode is structured by means of an ultrashort pulsed laser system. The main goal of this paper is to present the manufacturing process and the evaluation of the electromechanical properties of DE membranes based on the new electrode concept.