Ferro- and piezoelectric properties of vinylidene fluoride oligomer thin film fabricated on flexible polymer film

The ferro- and piezoelectric properties of vinylidene fluoride oligomer thin films fabricated on flexible polymer substrates were investigated under mechanical bending. Rectangular electric-displacement-electric-field hysteresis curves were observed for a polyimide substrate, and the remanent polarization and coercive electric field were unaffected on one-dimensional bending with a radius of curvature down to 10 mm . The piezoelectric charge generated by the bending and restoring process was measured and found to be dependent on the radius of curvature. These results indicate the possibility using the vinylidene fluoride oligomer in the construction of both flexible nonvolatile memories and curvature sensors.