Microfabrication of ionic polymer actuators by selective plasma irradiation

A novel method for fabricating a miniaturized ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) with plated gold electrodes is developed by combining selective plasma irradiation and electroless plating. The membrane is irradiated by SF6 or CF4 plasmas through a stencil mask prior to plating to prevent deposition of a gold electrode in the plasma‐irradiated area. Miniaturized IPMCs are fabricated with a 400‐µm‐wide line‐and‐space pattern. The proposed method has the potential to realize miniaturized IPMCs combined with microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices because this provides a direct and simple fabrication process. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.