Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface
Abstract Temperature sensors are one of the most fundamental sensors and are found in industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. The traditional approach of reading the resistive response of Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistors at DC hindered their adoption as wide-range tempera...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44735-z |
| _version_ | 1797355652575657984 |
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| author | Mahmoud Wagih Junjie Shi Menglong Li Abiodun Komolafe Thomas Whittaker Johannes Schneider Shanmugam Kumar William Whittow Steve Beeby |
| author_facet | Mahmoud Wagih Junjie Shi Menglong Li Abiodun Komolafe Thomas Whittaker Johannes Schneider Shanmugam Kumar William Whittow Steve Beeby |
| author_sort | Mahmoud Wagih |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Temperature sensors are one of the most fundamental sensors and are found in industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. The traditional approach of reading the resistive response of Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistors at DC hindered their adoption as wide-range temperature sensors. Here, we present a large-area thermistor, based on a flexible and stretchable short carbon fibre incorporated Polydimethylsiloxane composite, enabled by a radio frequency sensing interface. The radio frequency readout overcomes the decades-old sensing range limit of thermistors. The composite exhibits a resistance sensitivity over 1000 °C−1, while maintaining stability against bending (20,000 cycles) and stretching (1000 cycles). Leveraging its large-area processing, the anisotropic composite is used as a substrate for sub-6 GHz radio frequency components, where the thermistor-based microwave resonators achieve a wide temperature sensing range (30 to 205 °C) compared to reported flexible temperature sensors, and high sensitivity (3.2 MHz/°C) compared to radio frequency temperature sensors. Wireless sensing is demonstrated using a microstrip patch antenna based on a thermistor substrate, and a battery-less radio frequency identification tag. This radio frequency-based sensor readout technique could enable functional materials to be directly integrated in wireless sensing applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:14:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-782c422fdee14244a8763526b2478f51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:14:13Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-782c422fdee14244a8763526b2478f512024-01-14T12:29:19ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-01-0115111010.1038/s41467-024-44735-zWide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interfaceMahmoud Wagih0Junjie Shi1Menglong Li2Abiodun Komolafe3Thomas Whittaker4Johannes Schneider5Shanmugam Kumar6William Whittow7Steve Beeby8University of Glasgow, James Watt School of EngineeringUniversity of Southampton, School of Electronics and Computer ScienceUniversity of Southampton, School of Electronics and Computer ScienceUniversity of Southampton, School of Electronics and Computer ScienceLoughborough University, Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing EngineeringUniversity of Glasgow, James Watt School of EngineeringUniversity of Glasgow, James Watt School of EngineeringLoughborough University, Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing EngineeringUniversity of Southampton, School of Electronics and Computer ScienceAbstract Temperature sensors are one of the most fundamental sensors and are found in industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. The traditional approach of reading the resistive response of Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistors at DC hindered their adoption as wide-range temperature sensors. Here, we present a large-area thermistor, based on a flexible and stretchable short carbon fibre incorporated Polydimethylsiloxane composite, enabled by a radio frequency sensing interface. The radio frequency readout overcomes the decades-old sensing range limit of thermistors. The composite exhibits a resistance sensitivity over 1000 °C−1, while maintaining stability against bending (20,000 cycles) and stretching (1000 cycles). Leveraging its large-area processing, the anisotropic composite is used as a substrate for sub-6 GHz radio frequency components, where the thermistor-based microwave resonators achieve a wide temperature sensing range (30 to 205 °C) compared to reported flexible temperature sensors, and high sensitivity (3.2 MHz/°C) compared to radio frequency temperature sensors. Wireless sensing is demonstrated using a microstrip patch antenna based on a thermistor substrate, and a battery-less radio frequency identification tag. This radio frequency-based sensor readout technique could enable functional materials to be directly integrated in wireless sensing applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44735-z |
| spellingShingle | Mahmoud Wagih Junjie Shi Menglong Li Abiodun Komolafe Thomas Whittaker Johannes Schneider Shanmugam Kumar William Whittow Steve Beeby Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface Nature Communications |
| title | Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| title_full | Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| title_fullStr | Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| title_short | Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| title_sort | wide range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44735-z |
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