A wearable and highly sensitive capacitive pressure sensor integrated a dual-layer dielectric layer of PDMS microcylinder array and PVDF electrospun fiber

Abstract

Recently, high-performance flexible pressure sensors have received considerable attention because of their potential application in fitness tracking, human–machine interfaces, and artificial intelligence. Sensitivity is a key parameter that directly affects a sensor's performance; therefore, improving the sensitivity of sensors is a vital research topic. This study developed a dual-layer dielectric structure comprising a layer of electrospun fiber and an array of microcylinders and used it to fabricate a novel high-sensitivity capacitive pressure sensor. A simple, rapid, low-cost, and controllable microstructured method that did not require complex and expensive equipment was adopted. The proposed sensor can efficiently detect capacitance changes by analyzing changes in the fiber and microcylinder structure when compressed. It has high sensitivity of 0.6 kPa−1, rapid response time of 25 ms, ultralow limit of detection of 0.065 Pa, and high durability and high reliability without any signal attenuation up to 10,000 load/unload cycles and up to 5000 bending/unbending cycles. Moreover, it yielded favorable results in real-time tests, such as pulse monitoring, acoustic tests, breathe monitoring, and body motion monitoring. Furthermore, experiments were conducted using a robotic arm, and the obtained results verify that the sensor has different capacitance responses to objects with different shapes, which is crucial for its future applications in smart machinery. Finally, the sensors were arranged as a 6 × 6 matrix, and they successfully displayed the pressure distribution in a plane. Thus, the contributions of the capacitance pressure sensor with a dual-layer dielectric structure in the field of high-performance pressure sensors were verified.