Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection

Wearable health monitoring smart systems based on flexible metal films are considered to be the next generation of devices for remote medical practice. However, cracks on the metallic surface of the films and difficulty in repeatability are the key issues that restrict the application of such wearab...

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Main Authors: Xu Zheng, Qing Wang, Jinjin Luan, Yao Li, Ning Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
Series:Micromachines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/10/7/472
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author Xu Zheng
Qing Wang
Jinjin Luan
Yao Li
Ning Wang
author_facet Xu Zheng
Qing Wang
Jinjin Luan
Yao Li
Ning Wang
author_sort Xu Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Wearable health monitoring smart systems based on flexible metal films are considered to be the next generation of devices for remote medical practice. However, cracks on the metallic surface of the films and difficulty in repeatability are the key issues that restrict the application of such wearable strain sensors. In this work, a flexible wearable strain sensor with high sensitivity and good repeatability was fabricated based on a patterned metal/polymer composite material fabricated through nanoimprint lithography. The mechanical properties were measured through cyclic tension and bending loading. The sensor exhibited a small &#916;<i>R/R</i><sub>0</sub> error line for multiple test pieces, indicating the good mechanical stability and repeatability of the fabricated device. Moreover, the sensor possesses high sensitivity with gauge factors of 10 for strain less than 50% and 40 for strain from 50% to 70%. Various activities were successfully detected in real-time, such as swallowing, closing/opening of the mouth, and multi-angle bending of elbow, which illustrates the proposed sensor&#8217;s potential as a wearable device for the human body.
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spelling doaj.art-6f28946128d94bd5afd6cb394f9efd702022-12-22T00:42:29ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2019-07-0110747210.3390/mi10070472mi10070472Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion DetectionXu Zheng0Qing Wang1Jinjin Luan2Yao Li3Ning Wang4Institue of NanoEngineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, ChinaInstitue of NanoEngineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, ChinaInstitue of NanoEngineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, ChinaInstitue of NanoEngineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, ChinaInstitue of NanoEngineering, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, ChinaWearable health monitoring smart systems based on flexible metal films are considered to be the next generation of devices for remote medical practice. However, cracks on the metallic surface of the films and difficulty in repeatability are the key issues that restrict the application of such wearable strain sensors. In this work, a flexible wearable strain sensor with high sensitivity and good repeatability was fabricated based on a patterned metal/polymer composite material fabricated through nanoimprint lithography. The mechanical properties were measured through cyclic tension and bending loading. The sensor exhibited a small &#916;<i>R/R</i><sub>0</sub> error line for multiple test pieces, indicating the good mechanical stability and repeatability of the fabricated device. Moreover, the sensor possesses high sensitivity with gauge factors of 10 for strain less than 50% and 40 for strain from 50% to 70%. Various activities were successfully detected in real-time, such as swallowing, closing/opening of the mouth, and multi-angle bending of elbow, which illustrates the proposed sensor&#8217;s potential as a wearable device for the human body.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/10/7/472patterned strain sensormechanical propertyrepeatabilityflexible electronicshuman motion detection
spellingShingle Xu Zheng
Qing Wang
Jinjin Luan
Yao Li
Ning Wang
Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
Micromachines
patterned strain sensor
mechanical property
repeatability
flexible electronics
human motion detection
title Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
title_full Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
title_fullStr Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
title_full_unstemmed Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
title_short Patterned Metal/Polymer Strain Sensor with Good Flexibility, Mechanical Stability and Repeatability for Human Motion Detection
title_sort patterned metal polymer strain sensor with good flexibility mechanical stability and repeatability for human motion detection
topic patterned strain sensor
mechanical property
repeatability
flexible electronics
human motion detection
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/10/7/472
work_keys_str_mv AT xuzheng patternedmetalpolymerstrainsensorwithgoodflexibilitymechanicalstabilityandrepeatabilityforhumanmotiondetection
AT qingwang patternedmetalpolymerstrainsensorwithgoodflexibilitymechanicalstabilityandrepeatabilityforhumanmotiondetection
AT jinjinluan patternedmetalpolymerstrainsensorwithgoodflexibilitymechanicalstabilityandrepeatabilityforhumanmotiondetection
AT yaoli patternedmetalpolymerstrainsensorwithgoodflexibilitymechanicalstabilityandrepeatabilityforhumanmotiondetection
AT ningwang patternedmetalpolymerstrainsensorwithgoodflexibilitymechanicalstabilityandrepeatabilityforhumanmotiondetection