Nanorobotic actuator based on interlayer sliding ferroelectricity and field-tunable friction

TL;DR

This paper introduces an atomic-scale nanorobotic actuator leveraging interlayer sliding ferroelectricity and tunable friction in 2D materials, enabling controlled motion and potential applications in flexible electronics and nanorobotics.

Contribution

It presents the first design of an electromechanical actuator based on sliding ferroelectricity, combining experimental insights and simulations for controllable nanomotion.

Findings

Demonstrated controlled crawling motion driven by electric fields

Showed directional steering via uniaxial strain

Validated robust operation across various conditions

Abstract

Interlayer sliding ferroelectricity has been discovered in a variety of 2D materials with superb features such as atomic thickness, fast response, and fatigue resistance. So far, research on this phenomenon has been limited to fundamental physics and electronic applications, leaving its potential for electromechanical actuation unexplored. In this work, we design an atomic-scale actuator based on sliding ferroelectricity and field-tunable interfacial friction. With a prototype based on parallelly stacked bilayer h-BN sandwiched between gold contacts, we show how an alternating electric field can drive the bilayer into controlled crawling motions and how uniaxial strain can steer the crawl direction. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate the actuator's robust operation under a wide range of drive signals, friction scales, and frictional variations. We further provide experimental directions on how to realize field-tunable friction on h-BN interfaces. The wireless-ready actuation mechanism can be generalized to many 2D material systems possessing sliding ferroelectricity and integrated into flexible electronics platforms, opening new avenues in the development of intelligent nanorobotics.