Thin Film Transferring via PVA Substrate and Contacting of Sensor inside Elastomer Matrix

The integration of sensor-systems into elastomer bodies or onto flexible surfaces is a challenging task. Therefore, a new approach has been developed and investigated to create thin-film-based structures via PVD (physical vapor deposition) processes on water-soluble substrates such as polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) and subsequently transferring the sensor structures onto unvulcanized rubber substrates. A contacting method using conductive polymer composites creates a reliable technique to electrically contact transferred thin film layers within an elastomer sandwich matrix.