Methods developed for the fabrication of a thermally-induced polypyrrole bilayer micro/nanoactuator

This paper presents preliminary results on the development of methods for the fabrication of a thermally-induced polypyrrole bilayer microactuator using a combination of electropolymerisation and focused ion beam techniques. A thin polypyrrole film doped with trifluoromethanesulfonimide (TFSI) featuring high thermal and environmental stability, laminated with a thin gold layer is used as an active structure for the electrothermal actuator. A cantilever-shaped polypyrrole actuator of micrometer-sized was successfully fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB) milling and deposition with high dimensional precision, minimal damage and a short processing time. The feasibility of FIB in the fabrication of this actuator marks its potential as a micro/nanofabrication tool to produce micro/nanodevices and prototypes that require no mask, resist or multi-step etching.