A mechanical switch device made of a polyimide-coated microfibrillated cellulose sheet

This paper covers innovative results on the development of an electrostatically actuated mechanical switch device made of a microfibrillated cellulose sheet coated with a thin polyimide layer. For microelectronic applications, biodegradable and biocompatible nanomaterials such as microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) have attracted attention. The studied MFC sheets reveal a fibrous-like morphology composed of cellulose nanofibres leading to a high surface roughness. Moreover, the porous microstructure and the hydrophilic nature of the MFC sheet induce poor dielectric properties. These shortcomings make MFC sheets relatively unsuitable for electronic applications. In order to overcome these drawbacks, both sides of the MFC sheet are coated with a thin polyimide layer, which greatly improves the dielectric properties, moisture sensitivity and sheet surface roughness. This new sheet is then patterned in order to be used as a substrate for the fabrication of a micromechanical switch. Gold electrodes are added onto the sheet for electrostatic actuation and switch detection. The pull-down voltage of this switch, defined as the actuation voltage needed to establish a contact between the free end of the cantilever beam and the substrate, is measured to be about 55 V.