Abstract
Organic ferroelectrics such as poly (vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF] and its copolymer with trifluoroethylene [P (VDF/TrFE) ] are promising materials that could be used as tactile sensors due to their attractive features. However, it is difficult to fabricate well-ordered polymer films with a nanoscale thickness because polymers naturally have mixed structures of both crystalline and amorphous phases. vinylidene fluoride (VDF) oligomer is a new substance with a smaller number of VDF units and lower molecular weight than PVDF, and has the largest reported remanent polarization among organic ferroelectrics. Therefore, the piezoelectric effect of VDF oligomer was evaluated with a view to its application as a new tactile sensor. The piezoelectric coefficient of VDF oligomer was found to be greater than that of P (VDF/TrFE) copolymer, and a film composed of VDF oligomer was thin and uniform. These results confirm that VDF oligomer is a promising ferroelectric material for use in tactile sensors.
