A Novel Photoplastic Piezoelectric Nanocomposite for MEMS Applications

Author

Prashanthi, K. ; Naresh, M. ; Seena, V. ; Thundat, T. ; Rao, V. Ramgopal

Author_Institution

Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

Volume

21

Issue

2

fYear

2012

fDate

4/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

259

Lastpage

261

Abstract

This letter reports a photoplastic (SU-8) piezoelectric (ZnO) nanocomposite route for realization of simple and low-cost piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Integrating the ZnO nanoparticles into a photosensitive SU-8 polymer matrix not only retains the highly desired piezoelectric properties of ZnO but also combines the photopatternability and the optical transparency of the SU-8 polymer. These two aspects, therefore, lead to exciting MEMS applications with simple photolithography-based microfabrication. This approach opens up many new applications in the field of both sensor and energy harvesting.

Keywords

energy harvesting; microfabrication; micromechanical devices; nanocomposites; nanoparticles; photochemistry; photolithography; photoplasticity; piezoelectric materials; piezoelectricity; zinc compounds; MEMS applications; ZnO; energy harvesting; nanoparticles; optical transparency; photolithography-based microfabrication; photopatternability; photoplastic piezoelectric nanocomposite; photoplastic piezoelectric nanocomposite route; photosensitive SU-8 polymer matrix; piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems; piezoelectric property; Gold; Micromechanical devices; Nanobioscience; Polymers; Strain; Vibrations; Zinc oxide; Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS); SU-8 polymer; ZnO; nanocomposites; piezoelectric;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2011.2178118

Filename

6118300