Co-Ni-carbon flexible composite fibres for directional magnetic actuation

Highlights: • Co-Ni-carbon composite fibres show flexibility, electrical conductivity and magnetic properties for wireless microactuators. • The high aspect ratio of the fibre causes directional dependence in the magnetostatic energy allowing anisotropic actuation. • Fibres can be magnetically actuated with selectivity, reversibility and reproducibility in 1D, 2D or 3D. Flexible microcomponents are being widely employed in the microelectronic industry; however; they suffer from a lack of complex movement. To address this problem, we have developed flexible, electrically conductive, magnetic composite fibres showing complex motion in three dimensions with the capacity to be selectively actuated. Flexible carbon-based fibres were prepared by wet-spinning and were subsequently modified by electrodepositing Co-Ni. The high aspect ratio of the fibre (40 μm diameter, 3.5 cm length) causes a directional dependence in the magnetostatic energy, which will allow for anisotropic actuation of the composite. Thus, the application of magnetic fields allows for a precise control of the movement with high reproducibility and accuracy.