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A flexible and highly sensitive strain-gauge sensor using reversible interlocking of nanofibres

Nature Materials volume 11, pages 795–801 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Flexible skin-attachable strain-gauge sensors are an essential component in the development of artificial systems that can mimic the complex characteristics of the human skin. In general, such sensors contain a number of circuits or complex layered matrix arrays. Here, we present a simple architecture for a flexible and highly sensitive strain sensor that enables the detection of pressure, shear and torsion. The device is based on two interlocked arrays of high-aspect-ratio Pt-coated polymeric nanofibres that are supported on thin polydimethylsiloxane layers. When different sensing stimuli are applied, the degree of interconnection and the electrical resistance of the sensor changes in a reversible, directional manner with specific, discernible strain-gauge factors. The sensor response is highly repeatable and reproducible up to 10,000 cycles with excellent on/off switching behaviour. We show that the sensor can be used to monitor signals ranging from human heartbeats to the impact of a bouncing water droplet on a superhydrophobic surface.

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Figure 1: Multiplex, flexible strain-gauge sensor based on the reversible interlocking of Pt-coated polymer nanofibres.
Figure 2: Electric characterization of the sensor in response to pressure, shear and torsion loads.
Figure 3: Measurement of durability and time-resolved responses.
Figure 4: Measurement of highly sensitive, multiplex and real-time signals.
Figure 5: Fabrication of a sensor network to measure the spatial distribution of an input pressure signal.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge support from National Research Foundation of Korea grants (No. 20110017530 and No. 20110029862), World Class University program (R31-2008-000-10083-0) and Basic Science Research Program (2010-0027955). This work was also supported in part by Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-J03003) and the Global Frontier R&D Program on Center for Multiscale Energy System. We thank Y-E. Sung and N. Jung for I–V measurement, H-Y. Kim and K. Park for high-speed camera recording, H. Bang for the preparation of figure sets, and S. Kwon and H. Kim for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Class University Program on Multiscale Mechanical Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

    Changhyun Pang, Sang Moon Kim & Kahp-Yang Suh

  2. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

    Gil-Yong Lee, Hong Nam Kim, Sung-Hoon Ahn & Kahp-Yang Suh

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

    Tae-il Kim

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Contributions

C.P., T.K., and K-Y.S. conceived the project. C.P. and K-Y.S. designed the experiments. C.P., G-Y.L. and S.M.K. performed the experiments. C.P., G-Y.L., S.M.K. and S-H.A. developed the electric experimental set-up. C.P., S.M.K., H.N.K., S-H.A. and K-Y.S. analysed the data. C.P. and K-Y.S. wrote the paper, and all authors provided feedback.

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Correspondence to Kahp-Yang Suh.

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Pang, C., Lee, GY., Kim, Ti. et al. A flexible and highly sensitive strain-gauge sensor using reversible interlocking of nanofibres. Nature Mater 11, 795–801 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3380

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