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Scalable microaccordion mesh for deformable and stretchable metallic films


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Authors

Mertens, J 
Bowman, RW 
Willis, JCW 
Robinson, A 
Cotton, D 

Abstract

Elastically deformable materials can be created from rigids sheets through patterning appropriate meshes which can locally bend and flex. We demonstrate how micro-accordion patterns can be fabricated across large areas using three-beam interference lithography. Our resulting mesh induces a large and robust elasticity within any rigid material film. Gold coating the micro-accordion produces stretchable conducting films. Conductivity changes are negligible when the sample is stretched reversibly up to 30% and no major defects are introduced, in comparison to continuous sheets which quickly tear. Scaling analysis shows that our method is suited to further miniaturisation and large- scale fabrication of stretchable functional films. It thus opens routes to stretchable interconnects in electronic, photonic and sensing applications, as well as a wide variety of other deformable structures.

Description

Keywords

40 Engineering, 4016 Materials Engineering

Journal Title

Physical Review Applied

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2331-7019
2331-7019

Volume Title

4

Publisher

American Physical Society (APS)
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G060649/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L027151/1)
European Research Council (320503)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K028510/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G037221/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L015978/1)
We are grateful for funding from the Cambridge NanoDTC, ERC LINASS 320503 and UK EPSRC grants EP/G060649/1, EP/G037221/1, EP/L027151/1 and EP/L015978/1, as well as Nokia Research. RWB thanks Queens’ College Cambridge for financial support.