TY - JOUR A1 - Altafim, Ruy Alberto Pisani A1 - Rychkov, Dmitry A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund A1 - Basso, Heitor Cury A1 - Altafim, Ruy Alberto Pisani A1 - Melzer, Martin T1 - Laminated tubular-channel ferroelectret systems from low-density Polyethylene Films and from Fluoroethylene-propylene Copolymer Films - A comparison JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - A template-based lamination technique for the manufacture of ferroelectrets from uniform electret films was recently reported. In the present work, this technique is used to prepare similar ferroelectret structures from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films and from fluoro-ethylene-propylene (FEP) copolymer films. A comparative analysis of the pressure-, temperature-, and frequency-dependent piezoelectric properties has been performed on the two ferroelectret systems. It is observed that the FEP ferroelectrets exhibit better piezoelectric responses and are thermally more stable. The difference between the piezoelectric d(33) coefficients of the two ferroelectret systems is partially explained here by their different elastic moduli. The anti-resonance peaks of both structures have been investigated by means of dielectric resonance spectroscopy and electroacoustic sound-pressure measurements. A difference of more than 10 kHz is observed between the anti-resonance frequencies of the two ferroelectret systems. KW - Ferroelectrets KW - piezoelectrets KW - piezoelectricity KW - electro-mechanical transducers KW - static-pressure dependence KW - temperature dependence KW - frequency response Y1 - 2012 SN - 1070-9878 VL - 19 IS - 4 SP - 1116 EP - 1123 PB - Inst. of Electr. and Electronics Engineers CY - Piscataway ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rychkov, Dmitry A1 - Altafim, Ruy Alberto Pisani T1 - Template-based fluoroethylenepropylene ferroelectrets with enhanced thermal stability of piezoelectricity JF - Journal of applied physics N2 - In ferroelectrets, the piezoelectricity stems from the charges of both polarities trapped on the inner surfaces of the cavities in the material, so that its thermal stability is defined by the stability of the respective charges. In the present work, a template-based lamination technique has been employed to fabricate tubular-channel ferroelectrets from fluoroethylenepropylene (FEP) films. It has been shown that the piezoelectricity in FEP ferroelectrets decays at relatively low temperatures due to the inherently lower thermal stability of the positive charge. In order to improve charge trapping, we have treated both FEP films and inner surfaces of the ferroelectret cavities with titanium-tetrachloride vapor, using the atomic-layer-deposition technique. Using surface-potential-decay measurements on FEP films, we have found that the charge-decay curves shift by more than 100 degrees C to the higher temperatures as a result of the surface treatment. Direct measurements of piezoelectric d(33) coefficients as a function of temperature have shown that the piezoelectric stability is likewise improved with the d(33)-decay curves shifted by 60 degrees C to the right. The improvement of electret/ferroelectret properties can be attributed to the formation of the deeper traps on the chemically modified FEP surface. SEM micrographs and EDS analysis reveal island-like structures with titanium- and oxygen-containing species that can be responsible for the deeper trapping of the electret charges. Published by AIP Publishing. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5041374 SN - 0021-8979 SN - 1089-7550 VL - 124 IS - 17 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rychkov, Dmitry A1 - Altafim, Ruy Alberto Pisani A1 - Qiu, Xunlin A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Treatment with orthophosphoric acid enhances the thermal stability of the piezoelectricity in low-density polyethylene ferroelectrets JF - Journal of applied physics N2 - Ferroelectrets have been fabricated from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films by means of a template-based lamination. The temperature dependence of the piezoelectric d(33) coefficient has been investigated. It was found that low-density polyethylene ferroelectrets have rather low thermal stability with the piezoelectric coefficient decaying almost to zero already at 100 degrees C. This behavior is attributed to the poor electret properties of the polyethylene films used for the fabrication of the ferroelectrets. In order to improve the charge trapping and the thermal stability of electret charge and piezoelectricity, LDPE ferroelectrets were treated with orthophosphoric acid. The treatment resulted in considerable improvements of the charge stability in LDPE films and in ferroelectret systems made from them. For example, the charge and piezoelectric-coefficient decay curves shifted to higher temperatures by 60 K and 40 K, respectively. It is shown that the decay of the piezoelectric coefficient in LDPE ferroelectrets is governed by the relaxation of less stable positive charges. The treatment also leads to noticeable changes in the chemical composition of the LDPE surface. Infrared spectroscopy reveals absorption bands attributed to phosphorus-containing structures, while scanning electron microscopy shows new island-like structures, 50-200 nm in diameter, on the modified surface. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4729866 SN - 0021-8979 VL - 111 IS - 12 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Assagra, Yuri A.O. A1 - Altafim, Ruy Alberto Pisani A1 - do Carmo, Joao P. A1 - Altafim, Ruy A.C. A1 - Rychkov, Dmitry A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - A new route to piezo-polymer transducers: 3D printing of polypropylene ferroelectrets JF - IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation N2 - Here, a promising approach for producing piezo-polymer transducers in a one-step process is presented. Using 3D-printing technology and polypropylene (PP) filaments, we are able to print a two-layered film structure with regular cavities of precisely controlled size and shape. It is found that the 3D-printed samples exhibit piezoelectric coefficients up to 200 pC/N, similar to those of other PP ferroelectrets, and their temporal and thermal behavior is in good agreement with those known of PP ferroelectrets. The piezoelectric response strongly decreases for applied pressures above 20 kPa, as the pressure in the air-filled cavities strongly influences the overall elastic modulus of ferroelectrets. KW - 3D printing KW - polymer ferroelectrets KW - sensors and actuators KW - piezoelectrets KW - electret polymers KW - soft electro-active materials KW - functional materials KW - soft matter Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TDEI.2020.008461 SN - 1070-9878 SN - 1558-4135 VL - 27 IS - 5 SP - 1668 EP - 1674 PB - Inst. of Electr. and Electronics Engineers CY - Piscataway ER -