Design and Fabrication of Flexible Capacitive Sensor with Cellular Structured Dielectric Layer via 3D Printing

Because of high sensitivity, mechanical robustness, lightweight and wearability, flexible capacitive pressure transducer has been widely considered one of the most critical soft electronics in wearable consumables and e-skins. The enhancement of the pressure sensitivity of a flexible capacitive sensor relies on the introduction of interfacial microstructure to the dielectric layer. We demonstrate a new methodology to fabricate flexible capacitive sensors with copper-plated polyimide (PI) films as the electrodes and a porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer 3D printed via the direct-ink-writing approach. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry is developed to optimize the electroless copper plated PI films. What is further examined is the impact of the geometric complexity of the cellular PDMS structure, including filament width, spacing and alignment, on sensitivity, repeatability and reliability of the developed capacitive sensor. A robotic gripper equipped with our flexible pressure sensor showcases its competence to grip a soft target with well-posed force control. It is expected that our proposed sensor design and manufacturing methodology will advance the development of soft electronics and wearable sensors.