Integration of pedot:pss-based transducers in soft microchips
Résumé
Due to their rigidity and for some of them high manufacturing temperatures, classic micro-transducers are unsuitable to integrate soft microsystems or soft micro-robotic, thus leaving the door open to the development of actuators or sensors based on electronically conducting polymer (ECP). Trilayers structured from ion reservoir membrane sandwiched between two ECP (poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)) as electrodes are promising transducers due to their excellent mechanical properties, low operation voltage, and open air function. The aim of this work is to develop some reliable processes in order to shape the trilayer transducer and to integrate it in a soft microchip or to fabricate function for soft micro robots. Technologies of microfabrication are suitable for collective fabrication and are a required criterion for MEMS integration. Resulting micro-transducers with different shape integrated in a soft structure with bottom and top gold remote contact electrodes will be shown. These integrated polymeric actuators show good performances in terms of strain and blocking force at their scale. Micro-beams sensing ability are demonstrated and appear linear with the strain and the force applied. Moreover, the microcombs are able of actuation and sensing individually to each other.