Improving the performance and stability of flexible pressure sensors with an air gap structure

Abstract

A highly sensitive flexible resistive pressure sensor based on an air gap structure was presented. The flexible pressure sensor consists of two face to face polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films covered with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The pressure sensor with a 230 μm thickness air gap has relatively high sensitivity (58.9 kPa-1 in the range of 1-5 Pa, 0.66 kPa-1 in the range of 5-100 Pa), low detectable pressure limit (1 Pa), and a short response time (less than 1 s). The test results showed that the pressure sensor with an appropriate air gap has excellent pressure sensitive performance and application potential.