The Possibility of Electro-Active Papers as Actuators

초록

This paper will present the motivation of electro-active paper (EAPap) actuators and the possibility of the actuators. EAPap is a paper that produces large displacement with small force under an electrical excitation. EAPap is made with a chemically treated paper by constructing thin electrodes on both sides of the paper. When electrical voltage is applied on the electrodes, the EAPap produces bending displacement. Two attempts are made for the electrode construction: the direct use of aluminium foil and the gold sputtering technique. When 2kV/mm of excitation voltage was applied on the paper actuator, more than 3mm of tip displacement was observed out of the 30mm long paper beam. This is quite low excitation voltage compared to that of other EAPs. Details of the experiments and results will be addressed.