Microscopically crumpled indium-tin-oxide thin films as compliant electrodes with tunable transmittance
- 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, Vol. 107, Issue 13; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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