In this paper, a fabrication of IPMC (Ionic Polymer Metal Composites) films with hexagonal electrodes for deformable
mirrors applications has been described. With the array of hexagonal electrodes on one side of IPMC membrane, we can
control the contour of IPMC by driving voltage selectively. Our fabrication process involves ion-exchange, lithography,
and electroless plating steps. A positive photoresist in photolithography is used as the mask in the electroless plating
process to selectively grow platinum electrodes in IPMC regions. We have measured the surface resistance of the IPMC.
The surface resistance of the hexagonal electrodes is about 5Ω, which is small enough to enable the IPMC to be actuated
by low voltage. The other side of the IPMC membrane is smooth and can be used as reflection surface. We have
generated deformation on our IPMCs (5 cm X 5 cm) under a low actuation voltage less than 5 volts successfully. The
maximum stroke of the IPMC deformable mirror is about 25 um. Due to the low driving voltage of IPMCs, the
deformable mirrors made of IPMCs is promising.
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