Electrothermally Addressable Liquid Crystal Elastomer Microactuator Arrays with Integrated Microheaters

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Microengineering
• Soft Robotics

Background:

• Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) offer significant potential for microscale actuation due to their large, programmable deformations.
• Realizing practical LCE microsystems is hindered by fabrication challenges and the need for localized, electrically addressable actuation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel electrothermal LCE microactuation system.
• To demonstrate localized, electrically controlled actuation for LCE-based microsystems.

Main Methods:

• Lithographically integrated tungsten (W) microheaters were fabricated beneath surface-aligned LCE microactuators.
• A column-addressable architecture and resistance-based calibration were employed for precise control.
• Finite-element electrothermal modeling was used to estimate local LCE temperatures.

Main Results:

• The system achieved selective actuation (elongation, contraction, bending, twisting) of LCE microactuators.
• Actuation strains up to ~25% were observed at 8 V with minimal thermal crosstalk (<4% strain in adjacent areas).
• The electrothermal system demonstrated localized activation, overcoming limitations of optical stimulation.

Conclusions:

• The developed electrothermal LCE microactuation system is feasible for practical applications.
• This work provides a foundation for scalable, integrated soft microsystems.
• Localized electrical control of LCEs is achieved, paving the way for advanced microdevices.