Lu, TongqingKeplinger, ChristophArnold, NikitaBauer, SiegfriedSuo, Zhigang2015-02-032014Lu, Tongqing, Christoph Keplinger, Nikita Arnold, Siegfried Bauer, and Zhigang Suo. 2014. “Charge Localization Instability in a Highly Deformable Dielectric Elastomer.” Appl. Phys. Lett. 104 (2) (January 13): 022905. doi:10.1063/1.4862325.0003-6951http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13909888This paper shows that a highly deformable capacitor made of a soft dielectric and two conformal electrodes can switch between two states discontinuously, by a first-order transition, as the total charge varies gradually. When the total charge is small, it spreads evenly over the area of the capacitor, and the capacitor deforms homogeneously. When the total charge is large, it localizes in a small region of the capacitor, and this region thins down preferentially. The capacitor will survive the localization without electrical breakdown if the area of the electrode is small. Such a bistable system may lead to useful devices.en-USJournal Article2015-01-25Tongqing Lu, Christoph Keplinger, Nikita Arnold, Siegfried Bauer, and Zhigang Suo2015-02-0310.1063/1.4862325