Patterned wet deposition of ultrathin electrically conductive gold
Introduction Ionic polymer metal composite actuators offer large deflection, fast, yet soft actuation, and a very good durability at low voltage in wet conditions. Therefore they can be used in pumps, valves and for manipulation in solution. In the more general aim of integrating ionic polymer actuators into MEMS, chemical plating is not suitable as an electrode fabrication technique because it requires lengthy immersions of the polymer in different ionic solutions with heating, which is not applicable if the polymer is already cast onto a MEMS. Therefore, a new fabrication technique yielding a durable electrode on ionic polymer with high resolution is very desirable. It would pave the way for the integration of ionic polymer actuators in MEMS, micro fluidic devices, and biochips. Technology description Researchers at the University of Washington have invented a new fabrication technique to create electrodes on thin ionic polymer membranes for micro actuator applications. The technique consists in plasma deposition of a thin (a few nm)allylamine coating on the membrane followed by stepwise assembly of Au colloids on the amine surface into a conductive electrode. Patterned gold electrodes can be created by using a stencil mask during allylamine plasma deposition. This electrode deposition process is ideally suited for microfabrication (MEMS process). Business opportunity The MEMS market earned revenues of $56.5 million in 2007 and is estimated to reach $120.2 million in 2014. Intellectual Property Position This technology is available for licensing. For more information on this technology contact:
Patrick Shelby Technology Manager [email protected] 206-616-2127
Type of Offer: Licensing
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