Thin Film SMA - Polymer Composites For Microswitches

F. Khelfaoui, R. Vitushinsky, S. Schmitz, B. Winzek Caesar, Bonn, Germany Bistable microactuators are of substantial interest for several applications, including tactile displays and microswitches. Composite actuators based on shape memory thin films are promising for such applications because of their smart behavior. By utilizing specific shape memory alloys and polymer materials, a bistable switching mechanism can be realized and therefore the power consumption of the corresponding actuators can be reduced. This paper presents quantitative results of the bistable switching behavior of Ni-Ti-Hf shape memory thin films deposited onto a metallic substrate and combined with the epoxy based polymer, Accura Amethyst. An optimal bistable switching behavior was achieved by systematically varying the thickness of Amethyst and comparing the experimental responses. Moreover, shrinkage is significantly reduced by incorporating Amethyst which is also UV-structurable.