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Flexible capacitive pressure sensor based on electrically assisted micro-nanoimprinting

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Abstract

Flexible pressure sensors are evolving towards higher precision, larger areas, multi-sensing capabilities, increased resolution, and integration, imposing greater demands on the fabrication processes of flexible sensor devices. This study proposes a fully printed fabrication process utilizing electric field-assisted 3D micro-nanojet printing technology to manufacture capacitive sensors. Additionally, it designs sensor simulation studies based on hemispherical structures, cubic structures, and various microstructure arrangement densities to guide the preparation of capacitive pressure sensors. By utilizing PDMS mixed with 10% graphene material to print the dielectric layer with microstructures and conductive silver adhesive to print the electrode layer, the all-printing process significantly enhances the fabrication efficiency of flexible capacitive pressure sensors. The fabricated sensor achieves a maximum sensitivity of 0.7826 kPa−1 with a response time of 90 ms and a recovery time of 50 ms. It exhibits excellent responsiveness and stability during 4000 cycle tests, validating that the flexible capacitive pressure sensor, based on micro-nano-3D printing, can enhance the fabrication efficiency of flexible capacitive sensors and deliver outstanding performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.2021YFB3201600) and the Key Research Projects of basic scientific research projects of Liaoning Provincial Department of Education (Grant No. JYTZD2023169).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical & Control Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, 110168, China

    Ke Xu, Changtong Wang, Zixuan Zhang & Yuhe Tang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Hongji Guo

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  1. Ke Xu
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  2. Changtong Wang
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  3. Zixuan Zhang
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  4. Yuhe Tang
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Contributions

Ke Xu provided the funding and writing ideas. Changtong Wang performed the experiments and wrote the paper. Zixuan Zhang and Yuhe Tang polished the paper. Hongji Guo carried out the overall goal formulation. Both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hongji Guo.

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Xu, K., Wang, C., Zhang, Z. et al. Flexible capacitive pressure sensor based on electrically assisted micro-nanoimprinting. J Mater Sci 59, 13575–13590 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-09987-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-09987-6

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