Dielectric capacitors have been the major enabler for many applications in advanced electronic and electrical power systems because of their capability for ultrafast charging/discharging and ultrahigh power density. The low energy densities of polymer dielectrics used in these capacitors have not been able to meet the ever-increasing demands for compact, reliable, and efficient electrical power systems. Polymer nanocomposites, in which high-dielectric-constant (k) nanofillers are incorporated in the polymer matrix, have been actively pursued. In this article, we begin with two theoretical considerations for concomitantly increasing the dielectric permittivity and breakdown strength of nanocomposites: critical interfacial polarization and local electric-field distribution. In the framework of these considerations, we review recent progress toward polymer nanocomposites with high energy densities based on two approaches: core–shell-structured polymer nanocomposites and dielectric anisotropy. In addition, the potential for the enhanced elastic properties of nanocomposites to improve the dielectric strengths of capacitor films is also discussed.

As multifunctional electroactive materials, ferroelectric polymers are unique owing to their exceptionally high dielectric strength (>600 MV/m), high flexibility, and easy and low-temperature fabrication into required shapes. Although polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF)-based ferroelectric polymers have been known for several decades, recent findings reveal the potential of this class of electroactive polymers (EAPs) to achieve giant electroactive responses by tuning the molecular, nano, and meso-structures. This paper presents these advances, including giant electrocaloric effect, giant electroactuation, and large, hysteresis-free polarization response. New developments in materials benefit applications, such as environmentally benign and potentially highly energy-efficient electrical field controlled solid-state refrigeration, artificial muscles, and high-energy and power density electric energy storage devices. The challenges in developing these materials to realize these applications, and strategies to further improve the responses of EAPs will be also discussed.

Quasi-static and dynamic deformation behaviors of Zr-based bulk-metallic-glass-matrix composites, fabricated by Bridgman solidification, were investigated in this study. Upon quasi-static compressive loading, the composites exhibit ultrahigh strength, accompanied by considerable plasticity. The multiplication of shear bands on the lateral surface of deformed samples, and the highly-dense liquid drops on the fracture surface, are in agreement with the improved plasticity. However, upon dynamic loading, the mechanical properties of the composites deteriorate considerably, due to insufficient time to form profuse shear bands. The strain-rate responses of the mechanical properties of the crystalline alloys and the in situ and ex situ bulk metallic glass composites are compared, and the different deformation mechanisms of the in situ composites upon quasi-static and dynamic loading are explained.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymers are well known for their excellent ferroelectric and other related properties and they are being exploited as active components in many microdevices such as ferroelectric memory cells and infrared sensors. Compared with conventional photolithography, ink-jet printing provides a low-cost versatile method to fabricate polymer micro-devices. In this paper, the influences of driving waveform at the jet head, ink concentration, substrate chemistry, and the solvent quality on the printed P(VDF-TrFE) dots were investigated. It was found that well-defined P(VDF-TrFE) micro-dots with diameter of less than 30 mm and thickness of ∼1 μm can be printed by using a mixed solvent system, consisting of a good solvent with relatively low boiling temperature and a poor solvent with high boiling temperature, on perfluorinated hydrophobic gold surface. The printed P(VDF-TrFE) micro-dots possess crystallinity comparable to that of the bulk sample, suggesting that ink-jet printing technology is a promising micro-fabrication technology for manufacturing P(VDF-TrFE)-based micro-sensors and other micro-devices.

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are capable of converting energy in the form of electric charge and voltage to mechanical force and movement and vice versa. Several electroactive polymer actuator materials whose responses are controlled by external electric fields, e.g. poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) based fluoroterpolymers, have generated considerable interest for use in applications such as artificial muscles, sensors, parasitic energy capture, integrated bio-microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS) and microfluidic devices due to their high electric-field induced strain, high elastic modulus, high electromechanical coupling and high frequency operation, etc. Scaling the EAP down into microsystems is one of the promising trends of EAP actuators and sensors especially for biomedical engineering. The combination of micro-optics and integrated BioMEMS, referred to as bio-micro-opto-electromechanical systems (BioMOEMS), makes a new opportunity for innovation in the EAP field. We present an approach to the fabrication of low-cost, large-stroke deformable micromirrors based on high performance electroactive polymer film microactuator arrays. Integrated Optic-BioMEMS based on electroactive polymer deformable micromirror (EAPDM) technology provide potential applications in biomedical optics such as ophthalmology (retinal imaging and vision care) and cancer detection and treatment.

Among various electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator materials developed recently, the class of EAPs whose responses are stimulated by external electrical fields (often known as the field type EAPs) is especially attractive due to their high strain level and elastic energy density. However, for most field type EAPs, dielectric constant is low, generally less than 10. Consequently, these polymers usually require high electric fields (>100 V/μm) to generate high elastic energy density which limits their applications. In this paper, we will investigate some avenues to significantly raise the dielectric constant and electromechanical response in field type polymeric materials. By exploiting an all-organic composite approach in which high-dielectric-constant organic particulates were blended with a polymer matrix, a polymeric-like material can reach a dielectric constant higher than 400, which results in a significant reduction of the applied field to generate high strain with high elastic energy density. An all-polymer high-dielectric-constant (K>1,000 @1 kHz) percolative composite material was fabricated by the combination of conductive polyaniline particles (K>105) within a fluoroterpolymer matrix (K>50). These high-K polymer hybrid materials also exhibit high electromechanical responses under low applied fields. In addition, a three-component all-organic composite was designed and prepared to improve the dielectric constant and the electromechanical response, as well as the stability of the composites, in which a high-dielectric-constant organic dielectric phase and an organic conductive phase were embedded into the soft dielectric elastomer matrix.

The InyGa1−yAs/GaAs superlattice on InxGa1−x.As (x<y) buffer layer was grown by MOCVD. The well layer is under compressive strain and the barrier layer is under tensile strain. However, both layers do not exceed the calculated critical value based on the M−yAs interface was smoother than the InyGa1−yAs/GaAs interface; the Indium composition gradual region at the GaAs/InyGal1−yAs interface was narrower than that at the InyGa 1−yAs/GaAs interface; in InyGa1−yAs alloy layer, the Indium composition near the GaAs/InyGa1-yAs interface was higher than that near another interface. For the first time, we explained the composition profile in this kind of superlattice based on the indium segregation theory. A new strain relaxation model, in which the 30-degree and 90-degree shockley partial dislocations were taken into account under both tensile and compressive strains, was presented to explain the difference of the smoothness between the GaAs/InyGa1−yAs interface and the InyGa 1−yAs/GaAs interface.

We have investigated Si (100) homoepitaxy in variety of different temperature regimes. In the high temperature step flow regime, the growth properties of the different steps play an important role. The binding sites and diffusion barriers for a Si adatom moving over the buckled Si(100) surface and single-height steps were investigated with the ab initio Car-Parrinello scheme. The SA step edge was found to be a relatively poor sink for adatoms. By contrast, growth takes place much more rapidly at the SB step edges, so that one can understand the relatively fast growth observed at the ends of dimer rows. We have also investigated Si(100) homoepitaxy with classical molecular dynamics simulations at very low temperatures, where typically an amorphous deposit forms. By tuning the energy of the incoming atomic beams, one can lower the temperature of the amorphous to crystalline transition considerably and thereby enhance epitaxial growth.