Gentle dry etching of P(VDF-TrFE) multilayer micro actuator structures by use of an inductive coupled plasma

To fully utilize the actuator properties of poly(vinylidenefluoride) (P(VDF))-based polymers, the electric field has to be rather high and one way to accomplish this, in particular with low voltage drive signals, is to build multilayered structures. This paper focuses on how to structure poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE) by presenting an etch method to create multilayered miniaturized actuators, with intermediate aluminium electrodes. To create inter-connect areas for the multilayer electrodes, a modified Bosch process in an inductive couple plasma (ICP) etcher is used to remove all P(VDF-TrFE) not covered by the electrodes. Since each electrode mask is slightly different from the others, the result is a staircase-like inter-electrode contact area that is connected from above using a conductive adhesive. The developed ICP etch results in high selective etching and a good agreement between theoretical and measured capacitance values. The manufactured cantilevers, consisting of a multilayer on top of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board, were tested and the resonant stroke was confirmed to agree with expected values. The successful establishment of interlayer connections between the electrodes open up the possibility for batch fabrication of cheap low voltage micro actuators built on a standard substrate used in millions of commercial products.