Porous Polymer Based Flexible Pressure Sensors for Medical Applications

Abstract

This paper focuses on the use of microporous PDMS foams as a highly deformable film to improve the sensitivity of flexible capacitive pressure sensor dedicated to wearable use. A fabrication process allowing the mechanical properties of foams to be adjusted is proposed together with a non-linear behavioral model used to objectively estimate the sensor performances in terms of sensitivity and measurement range. Sensors fabricated and characterized in this study show that the sensitivity and the measurement range can be adjusted from 0.14%/kPa up to 13.07%/kPa, and from 594 kPa to 183 kPa, respectively, while the PDMS film porosity ranges from 0% up to 85%.

Keywords

• polymer-based flexible pressure sensors
• microporous PDMS foam
• electromechanical characterizations
• sensor behavioral modelling