PROJECT TITLE :

Soft and Morphable Displays and Profilometers: Self-Assembled Out-of-Plane by Capillary Pressure Acting on a Gel

ABSTRACT:

High side ratio, conductive sharp tips have geometrical advantages in sensing and actuation. Developing these structures on soft, stretchable and bendable materials would offer distinct benefits, like conformable sensors for biosignals, morphable displays, profilometers for curved surfaces, and thus on. A major challenge in using soft materials as substrates is that the fabrication technique ought to be conducted in close to ambient conditions, particularly at low temperature. In this paper, the fabrication of high facet ratio conductive sharp tips about elastomers is mentioned. While not using fine feature molds, a capillary bridge is formed by containing and separating a conductive viscous gel between 2 plates. The capillary pressure experienced by the capillary bridge shapes the gel to a sharp tip ( nm) before it solidifies. The method flow is quantified by measuring the mechanical force needed for tip creation and extracting the coefficients of the standard linear solid model for the viscoelastic gel. Electron emission is demonstrated at twenty two bar and one mbar, and appears to be determined by Fowler–Nordheim tunneling for most cases. Elastomeric field emission displays and profilometers are demonstrated.