A flexoelectric microelectromechanical system on silicon
Abstract
Flexoelectricity allows a dielectric material to polarize in response to a mechanical bending moment and, conversely, to bend in response to an electric field. Compared with piezoelectricity, flexoelectricity is a weak effect of little practical significance in bulk materials. However, the roles can be reversed at the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate that flexoelectricity is a viable route to lead-free microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems. Specifically, we have fabricated a silicon-compatible thin-film cantilever actuator with a single flexoelectrically active layer of strontium titanate with a figure of merit (curvature divided by electric field) of 3.33 MV-1, comparable to that of state-of-the-art piezoelectric bimorph cantilevers.
- Publication:
-
Nature Nanotechnology
- Pub Date:
- March 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1038/nnano.2015.260
- Bibcode:
- 2016NatNa..11..263B