Miniaturized Flexible Non-Contact Interface Based on Heat Shrinkage Technology.

Abstract

High-performance miniaturized flexible sensors are becoming increasingly important in wearable electronics. However, miniaturization of devices often requires high-precision manufacturing processes and equipment, which limits the commercialization of flexible sensors. Therefore, revolutionary technologies for manufacturing miniaturized flexible sensors are highly desired. In this work, a new method for manufacturing miniaturized flexible humidity sensor by utilizing heat shrinkage technology is presented. This method successfully achieves much smaller sensor and denser interdigital electrode. Utilizing this method, a miniaturized flexible humidity sensor and array are presented, fabricated by anchoring nano-Al2 O3 into carbon nano-tube as the humidity sensitive film. This heat shrinkage technology, forming wrinkle structure on the humidity sensitive film, endows the sensor with a high sensitivity over 200% (ΔR/R0 ) at humidity levels ranging from 0 to 90%RH and a fast recovery time (0.5s). The sensor allows non-contact monitoring human respiration and alerting in case of an asthma attack and the sensor array can be adaptively attached to the wrist as a non-contact human-machine interface to control the mechanical hand or computer. This work provides a general and effective heat shrinkage technology for the development of smaller and more efficient flexible circuits and sensor devices.