2013/05/17 by Jean-Baptiste Chossat, Yong‐Lae Park, Robert J. Wood +1 · 1 citation
Engineering · Chemical Engineering · #Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials #Analytical Chemistry and Sensors #Dielectric materials and actuators
paper · doi:10.1109/jsen.2013.2263797
openalex publication_date 2013/05/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
A novel soft strain sensor capable of withstanding strains of up to 100% is described. The sensor is made of a hyperelastic silicone elastomer that contains embedded microchannels filled with conductive liquids. This is an effort of improving the previously reported soft sensors that uses a single liquid conductor. The proposed sensor employs a hybrid approach involving two liquid conductors: an ionic solution and an eutectic gallium-indium alloy. This hybrid method reduces the sensitivity to noise that may be caused by variations in electrical resistance of the wire interface and undesired stress applied to signal routing areas. The bridge between these two liquids is made conductive by doping the elastomer locally with nickel nanoparticles. The design, fabrication, and characterization of the sensor are presented.