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Microscopically crumpled indium-tin-oxide thin films as compliant electrodes with tunable transmittance

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932115· OSTI ID:22482173
 [1]; ;  [1]
  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films are perceived to be stiff and brittle. This letter reports that crumpled ITO thin films on adhesive poly-acrylate dielectric elastomer can make compliant electrodes, sustaining compression of up to 25% × 25% equi-biaxial strain and unfolding. Its optical transmittance reduces with crumpling, but restored with unfolding. A dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) using the 14.2% × 14.2% initially crumpled ITO thin-film electrodes is electrically activated to produce a 37% areal strain. Such electric unfolding turns the translucent DEA to be transparent, with transmittance increased from 39.14% to 52.08%. This transmittance tunability promises to make a low-cost smart privacy window.

OSTI ID:
22482173
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 107; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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