The relationship between hole size and the voltage-driven formation of surface structures in an ITO/liquid crystal polymer/perforated metal electrode system

Publication date: Available online 17 February 2020Source: Journal of Physics and Chemistry of SolidsAuthor(s): Laurens T. de Haan, Eser M. Akinoglu, Guofu ZhouAbstractA device consisting of a multidomain liquid crystal polymer network sandwiched between a continuous electrode and a perforated silver electrode shows strong surface deformations upon application of an electric field between the electrodes. Here, a new method is presented for the preparation of such a device, in which a silver film with circular holes of a well-controlled diameter was made by evaporating silver onto a monolayer of polystyrene spheres. Due to multilayer defects of the polystyrene microparticle lithography template, larger combined holes were present, which provided interesting information about the effect of pore size on the deformation behavior. The results were compared to an electrostatic field distribution, from which the conclusion could be drawn that there is a minimum hole size that allows deformation. This knowledge is important for the development of applications for this kind of device, as the aspect ratio of the deformations is of crucial importance for effects such as switchable wetting and self-cleaning.
Source: Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids - Category: Physics Source Type: research