A New Pressure Matrix Array Sensor Composed of Flexible Mechanical Sensor Elements

Abstract

Due to the development of science and technology, people are increasingly interested in portable and flexible devices, and demand is deepening. Among them, sensors play an important role in signal transmission between people and equipment. We study a low-cost, easy-to-prepare, and can-be mass-produced flexible pressure sensor element, which is made of silver nanowires/polyvinyl butyral/melamine sponge (AgPMS). Due to the chemical stability of the silver nanowires and its wrapped structure on the melamine sponge skeleton, AgPMS can maintain constant resistance in 5000 times compression and at high temperatures for 15 days, indicating high mechanical stability and high oxidation resistance. With the 60% compression, AgPMS shows a 60% high resistance change rate. To apply it to actual sensing, we assembled the AgPMS into a 5 5 sensor matrix array (SMA). It shows the sharp difference in resistance change rate while under compression of 30% and 60%. We compare the force distribution exhibited by several different shapes of pressure, respectively. It indicates that each array element has high responsiveness to the resistance changes. And the sensitivity can be adjusted freely with the array size of the sensor.