Dielectrostriction Effect in Flexible Dielectric Realized by Ordered Doping of Iron Nanoparticles for Wide-Range Pressure Detection

Abstract

Wide-range pressure sensors address diverse applications and have great research value. Nonetheless, the sensitivity of most of the pressure sensors reported in the literature decreases dramatically in the high-pressure region due to the limitation of their sensing mechanism. To solve this problem, the “dielectrostriction effect” was taken into consideration in the design of a flexible capacitive pressure sensor, in which the dielectric constant varies with the applied pressure and is boosted by controlling the distribution of the doped nanosized iron particles in the dielectrics with magnets. This method obviously improved the performance of the fabricated pressure sensor, which had a wide detection range (0–250 kPa) and exhibited a high sensitivity of 10.2% kPa–1 over the pressure range of 0–125 kPa and of 2% kPa–1 over the pressure range of 125–250 kPa. Consequently, the method of enhancing the dielectrostriction effect proposed in this work demonstrates great potential in wide-range pressure measurements.