High-performance pressure sensor for monitoring mechanical vibration and air pressure

Abstract

To realize the practical applications of flexible pressure sensors, the high performance (sensitivity and response time) as well as more functionalities are highly desired. In this work, we fabricated a piezoresistive pressure sensor based on the micro-structured composites films of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). In addition, we establish efficient strategies to improve key performance of our pressure sensor. Its sensitivity is improved up to 474.13 kPa-1 by minimizing pressure independent resistance of sensor, and response time is shorten as small as 2 μs by enhancing the elastic modulus of polymer elastomer. Benefiting from the high performance, the functionalities of sensors are successfully extended to the accurate detection of high frequency mechanical vibration (~300 Hz) and large range of air pressure (6-101 kPa), both of which are not achieved before.