Graphene-based bimorphs for micron-sized, autonomous origami machines

Abstract

We build origami machines the size of cells by folding them out of atomically thin paper. At the heart of our approach is an actuator technology made from graphene and a nanometer-thick layer of glass. We use these actuators to fold 2D patterns into targeted 3D structures. The resulting machines are freely deployed in solutions, can change shape in fractions of a second, carry loads large enough to support embedded electronics, and can be fabricated en masse. This work opens the door to a generation of small machines for sensing, robotics, energy harvesting, and interacting with biological systems on the cellular level.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 02, 2018
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1712889115

Entities

People

  • Baris Bircan
  • David A. Muller
  • Itai Cohen
  • Kyle J Dorsey
  • Marc Z Miskin
  • Paul McEuen
  • Yimo Han

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Cornell University
  • National Science Foundation

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • Autonomy
  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems