Feasibility on a piezoresistive tactile normal force sensor array

Abstract

The paper presents a piezoresistive sensor array designed for use in touch panel applications. The sensor array is able to detect both amplitude and position of an applied force. A numerical method was used in designing both the normal force sensor and the sensor array. The normal force sensor has been designed, fabricated and tested with sensitivity of 0.5 mV/mN V. The sensor array has been modeled as feasible through the implementation of normal force sensor, and shows the sensitivity of 0.42 mV/mN V. The numerical results of the sensor array demonstrate linearity, which can be used for characterization of touch position and force amplitude. The intrinsic force-angle-related property of the normal force sensor can affect the characterization of the sensor array, and produce redundancy information for more precise data analysis.