Aerosol jet printed resistive temperature sensors with high sensitivity

Aerosol jet printing provides a facile, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly approach to pattern thin films with nanomaterial inks. Printed flexible resistive thin-film temperature sensors play an important role in human body temperature monitoring, soft robotics, prosthetics, and real-time temperature monitoring of large area curved surfaces due to their linear response to temperature, low-cost, scalability, and flexibility. However, the temperature coefficient of the resistance of the printed resistive temperature sensors reported in the literature is much less than that of their bulk metals. In this work, we demonstrate aerosol jet printed resistive temperature sensors with silver nanoparticle ink that have a temperature coefficient of resistance close to that of bulk silver. We report a temperature coefficient of resistance of 3.7 x 10-3 degrees C- 1 for the aerosol jet printed resistive temperature sensors, the highest value yet reported in literature for resistive temperature detectors composed of thermally sintered silver nanoparticle thin films. The mechanisms for the increased performance are investigated using metrological and thermal techniques with regard to the source ink and traces. Additionally, we show that the overall sensitivity of the printed sensors can be modulated by controlling the thickness of the printed thin films. Finally, we evaluate the response of the printed resistive sensors to bending strain and humidity, including an investigation into the effects of organic passivation. Overall, this work presents printed sensors with performance on par with vacuum deposited resistive temperature detectors, enabling the fabrication technique to make an industrial impact.

Automated summary

Aerosol jet printing is a simple, cost-efficient, and environmentally friendly method for patterning thin films with nanomaterial inks. This study demonstrates aerosol jet printed resistive temperature sensors with a temperature coefficient of resistance close to that of bulk silver. The overall sensitivity of the printed sensors can be modulated by controlling the thickness of the printed thin films. The response of the printed sensors to bending strain and humidity is also evaluated.