Tallinn University of Technology

About: Tallinn University of Technology is a education organization based out in Tallinn, Estonia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: European union & Oil shale. The organization has 3688 authors who have published 10313 publications receiving 145058 citations. The organization is also known as: Tallinn Technical University & Tallinna Tehnikaülikool.

Electroactive polymer actuators with carbon aerogel electrodes

Abstract: Electromechanically active polymers (EAPs) change their shape in response to the voltage stimulus. They can be used as actuators or sensors. Several researchers have introduced different materials and assembling methods for EAPs. It is generally accepted that the porous structure of electrodes with possibly high specific surface area can greatly improve the actuation performance. In this paper, carbon aerogel is introduced as a new material for fabrication of nanoporous electrodes for EAP actuators. Using the direct assembly process (DAP), carbon–ionic liquid EAPs with either activated or non-activated carbon aerogel electrodes are prepared and analyzed. Their electrochemical and electromechanical characteristics are presented and compared to our recently reported actuators based on carbide-derived carbon and activated carbon electrodes. The results show that our newly developed actuators with activated carbon aerogel electrodes and non-activated carbon aerogel electrodes have maximum strains of 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively, which are comparable to the parameters reported previously for carbide-derived carbon and activated carbon based actuators and also to any other low-voltage driven EAP actuators.

Review Article: Recommended reading list of early publications on atomic layer deposition—Outcome of the “Virtual Project on the History of ALD”

Abstract: Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a gas-phase thin film deposition technique based on repeated, self-terminating gas-solid reactions, has become the method of choice in semiconductor manufacturing and many other technological areas for depositing thin conformal inorganic material layers for various applications. ALD has been discovered and developed independently, at least twice, under different names: atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) and molecular layering. ALE, dating back to 1974 in Finland, has been commonly known as the origin of ALD, while work done since the 1960s in the Soviet Union under the name "molecular layering" (and sometimes other names) has remained much less known. The virtual project on the history of ALD (VPHA) is a volunteer-based effort with open participation, set up to make the early days of ALD more transparent. In VPHA, started in July 2013, the target is to list, read and comment on all early ALD academic and patent literature up to 1986. VPHA has resulted in two essays and several presentations at international conferences. This paper, based on a poster presentation at the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition in Dublin, Ireland, 2016, presents a recommended reading list of early ALD publications, created collectively by the VPHA participants through voting. The list contains 22 publications from Finland, Japan, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and United States. Up to now, a balanced overview regarding the early history of ALD has been missing; the current list is an attempt to remedy this deficiency.