Dynamic Characteristics of High Field Electro-active Silicone and Acrylic Elastomer Actuator Devices

Two types of actuator devices were prepared for performance evaluation. One was acrylic elastomer actuators to aim at large displacement, and the other was silicone elastomer actuators as MEMS devices. Pre-stressed flat actuators and rolled actuators made of acrylic elastomer were prepared to measure stress-strain and temporal response characteristics. About 10% strain and 100 mum displacement were obtained for pre-stress specimens and pre-stressed rolled actuators, respectively. Response time was the order of seconds. Single flat specimens and two types of multi-laminated actuators made of silicone elastomer were prepared and evaluated. Furthermore, a pair of micro-tweezers of 190 mum gap in their tip was fabricated to demonstrate a movement of 93 mum at their tip at 2.5 kV (10 kV/mm).