Enhanced sensitivity of piezoelectric pressure sensor with microstructured polydimethylsiloxane layer

Highly sensitive detection tools that measure pressure and force are essential in palpation as well as real-time pressure monitoring in biomedical applications. So far, measurement has mainly been done by force sensing resistors and field effect transistor (FET) sensors for monitoring biological pressure and force sensing. We report a pressure sensor by the combination of a piezoelectric sensor layer integrated with a microstructured Polydimethylsiloxane (mu-PDMS) layer. We propose an enhanced sensing tool to be used for analyzing gentle touches without the external voltage source that is used in FET sensors, by incorporating a microstructured PDMS layer in a piezoelectric sensor. By measuring the directly induced electrical charge from the microstructure-enhanced piezoelectric signal, we observed a 3-fold increased sensitivity in a signal response. Both fast signal relaxation from force removal and wide dynamic range from 0.23 to 10 kPa illustrate the good feasibility of the thin film piezoelectric sensor for mimicking human skin. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4869816]