Sensors-on-paper: Fabrication of graphite thermal sensor arrays on cellulose paper for large area temperature mapping

Abstract

This paper reports on a fabrication method to obtain multiple thermal sensors by employing an array of graphite thermocouple patterns on commonly available Xerox paper. The graphite thermocouples are patterned using two different grade graphite pencils, which show a stable and reproducible thermal sensitivity. The fabricated paper devices with multiple thermocouple arrays are capable of producing temperature mapping of the desired area. Different thermal conditions were applied to test and confirm the working of these devices. The present work shows that simple graphite trace patterns can convert a piece of paper into a thermal mapping device.

Keywords

• Thermal sensors
• Thermocouples
• Graphite sensors
• Temperature mapping
• Low-cost
• Paper and pencil