Design of all-plastic distributed pressure sensors based on electroactive materials

A new technology of flexible all-plastic pressure sensors is developed using conducting polymers as electroactive materials on plastic substrates. The lithography of one of the conducting sheets being part of the device makes feasible the construction of a distributed pressure sensor giving not only the cuantitative pressure information but also its spatial distribution. A response time as low as 2 milliseconds, and a lifetime over 1 millions of actuations are obtained. The first demonstrator works in pressure ranges from 3 to 14 Kg/cm 2 . These working pressure ranges can be adjusted by the proper spatial design of conducting and non-conducting paths. The present paper describes the development of an innovative, low cost and flexible technology opening interesting potential opportunities for high-surface applications.