Fiber structure using thin-film/elastomer bilayer systems

We study a manner for making a fiber structure using a thin-film/elastomer bilayer system. In literature, it is known that three-dimensional structures such as wrinkles and curved structures can be obtained by inducing a length difference between the thin film and the elastomeric substrate. In this work, we show that by depositing a thin film of appropriate thickness on an elastomeric substrate of sufficient length relative to its width and applying a length difference between the two materials, a wrinkle structure is formed perpendicular to the length direction and a fiber structure can be obtained by curving and rolling in the width direction. Moreover, we present a method of using plastic deformation of the film to induce a length difference between the thin film and the elastomeric substrate for the formation of a fiber structure. By depositing a micrometer-thick plastic film on a 100-micrometer-thick elastic material, we have succeeded in obtaining a fiber structure with a width on the order of sub-millimeters. The application of fiber structures using thin -film/elastomer bilayer systems as functional devices is also presented.