Paper-Based Bimodal Sensor for Electronic Skin Applications

We present the development of a flexible bimodal sensor using a paper platform and inkjet printing method, which are suited for low-cost fabrication processes and realization of flexible devices. In this study, we employed a vertically stacked bimodal device architecture in which a temperature sensor is stacked on top of a pressure sensor and operated on different principles, allowing the minimization of interference effects. For the temperature sensor placed in the top layer, we used the thermoelectric effect and formed a closed-loop thermocouple composed of two different printable inks (conductive PEDOT:PSS and silver nanoparticles on a flexible paper platform) and obtained temperature-sensing capability over a wide range (150 °C). For the pressure sensor positioned in the bottom layer, we used microdimensional pyramid-structured poly(dimethylsiloxane) coated with multiwall carbon nanotube conducting ink. Our pressure sensor exhibits a high-pressure sensitivity over a wide range (100 Pa to 5 kPa) and high-endurance characteristics of 105. Our 5 × 5 bimodal sensor array demonstrates negligible interference, high-speed responsivity, and robust sensing characteristics. We believe that the material, process, two-terminal device, and integration scheme developed in this study have a great value that can be widely applied to electronic skin.