A multi-walled carbon nanotube-aluminum bimorph nanoactuator

A multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) bimorph nanoactuator has been modeled, fabricated and characterized. A thin aluminum film was uniformly deposited on the sidewalls of MWNTs using a pulsed laser deposition method to create the bimorph nanostructure. For a temperature change from 290 to 690 K with measured dimensions of 100 ± 20 nm for the MWNT diameter, 40 ± 10 nm for the Al thickness, and 5.2 ± 0.5 μm for the bimorph length, the measured deflection was 550 ± 200 nm, which was in good agreement with the calculation. The actuation force was measured using a lateral force microscopy technique, and the measured values agreed well with the prediction based on the model. The nanoactuator generated a μN force at its tip.