An all-elastomer pressure sensor utilizing printed carbon nanotube patterns with high sensitivity

Abstract

Highly sensitive pressure sensors able to detect minute gas pressure differences are required to obtain more complete information from wearable sensors. Here, we developed a simple and highly sensitive pressure sensor composed uniquely of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a sensing element. Through our developed transfer patterning method, carbon nanotubes were first inkjet-printed on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film then transferred to PDMS, allowing deposition of well-defined patterns of CNTs. We show that a PDMS diaphragm containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can act as a pressure sensor due to the deflection of the diaphragm and a consequent change in resistance of the CNT pattern. The simple fabrication process may allow the sensor to be easily integrated into various devices and has high sensitivity, allowing low differential pressure measurement, while the minimum detected differential pressure was 10 Pa. • An all polymer and highly sensitive pressure has been developed and fully characterized. • The sensors operated in the low-pressure range (range from 10 Pa to 600 Pa), while the limit of detection was 3.1 Pa. • The developed pressure is tunable for a wide range of pressure measurements as needed.