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Printed Sensors 2018

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2018) | Viewed by 24595

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadores, Universidad de Granada—ETSIIT, c/P. Daniel Saucedo Aranda s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: electronic instrumentation; sensors and biosensors, dosimetry with MOSFET; flexible and printed electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Granada—Facultad de Ciencias. Campus de Fuentenueva, 18071 Granada, España
Interests: analytical chemistry, chemical sensors, optical sensors, printed sensors, microfluidic devices, validation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The printed-sensor market is expected to reach USD $10.46 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0% between 2017 and 2022. The major drivers for the printed-sensor market are the growing integration of printed sensors in medical wearable devices, Internet-of things (IoT) systems, and smart packaging, as well as the benefits of printed sensors over conventional sensing technologies. This trend produces a high demand for sensors that can be integrated on any substrate and fabrication methods like printing technologies that are expanding the field of flexible/bendable/stretchable sensors.

This Special Issue focuses on (bio-)chemical and physical sensors that can be produced on flexible substrates by a potentially low-cost technology, such as printing or roll-to-roll processing. This number accepts high-quality articles that contain original research results and review articles, and will allow readers to learn more about technologies related to the potential of providing printed sensors that will benefit everyone's lives.

Therefore, articles reporting recent advances in sensor materials, sensor properties, sensor device concepts, sensor fabrication/printing and testing techniques, printing on novel substrates, and application-oriented printed sensor systems, as well as closely-related topics, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Alberto J. Palma
Prof. Dr. Luis Fermin Capitan-Vallvey
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


 

Keywords

  • Printed sensor
  • Flexible substrate
  • Printing technology
  • Inkjet printing
  • Screen printing
  • Roll to roll technology
  • Wearable devices
  • IoT device
  • Smart packaging
  • Environmental monitoring

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4361 KiB  
Article
Bragg-Grating-Based Photonic Strain and Temperature Sensor Foils Realized Using Imprinting and Operating at Very Near Infrared Wavelengths
by Jeroen Missinne, Nuria Teigell Benéitez, Marie-Aline Mattelin, Alfredo Lamberti, Geert Luyckx, Wim Van Paepegem and Geert Van Steenberge
Sensors 2018, 18(8), 2717; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18082717 - 18 Aug 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4309
Abstract
Thin and flexible sensor foils are very suitable for unobtrusive integration with mechanical structures and allow monitoring for example strain and temperature while minimally interfering with the operation of those structures. Electrical strain gages have long been used for this purpose, but optical [...] Read more.
Thin and flexible sensor foils are very suitable for unobtrusive integration with mechanical structures and allow monitoring for example strain and temperature while minimally interfering with the operation of those structures. Electrical strain gages have long been used for this purpose, but optical strain sensors based on Bragg gratings are gaining importance because of their improved accuracy, insusceptibility to electromagnetic interference, and multiplexing capability, thereby drastically reducing the amount of interconnection cables required. This paper reports on thin polymer sensor foils that can be used as photonic strain gage or temperature sensors, using several Bragg grating sensors multiplexed in a single polymer waveguide. Compared to commercially available optical fibers with Bragg grating sensors, our planar approach allows fabricating multiple, closely spaced sensors in well-defined directions in the same plane realizing photonic strain gage rosettes. While most of the reported Bragg grating sensors operate around a wavelength of 1550 nm, the sensors in the current paper operate around a wavelength of 850 nm, where the material losses are the lowest. This was accomplished by imprinting gratings with pitches 280 nm, 285 nm, and 290 nm at the core-cladding interface of an imprinted single mode waveguide with cross-sectional dimensions 3 × 3 µm2. We show that it is possible to realize high-quality imprinted single mode waveguides, with gratings, having only a very thin residual layer which is important to limit bend losses or cross-talk with neighboring waveguides. The strain and temperature sensitivity of the Bragg grating sensors was found to be 0.85 pm/µε and −150 pm/°C, respectively. These values correspond well with those of previously reported sensors based on the same materials but operating around 1550 nm, taking into account that sensitivity scales with the wavelength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Printed Sensors 2018)
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9 pages, 19811 KiB  
Article
Direct Printing of Stretchable Elastomers for Highly Sensitive Capillary Pressure Sensors
by Wenguang Liu and Chaoyi Yan
Sensors 2018, 18(4), 1001; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18041001 - 28 Mar 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5568
Abstract
We demonstrate the successful fabrication of highly sensitive capillary pressure sensors using an innovative 3D printing method. Unlike conventional capacitive pressure sensors where the capacitance changes were due to the pressure-induced interspace variations between the parallel plate electrodes, in our capillary sensors the [...] Read more.
We demonstrate the successful fabrication of highly sensitive capillary pressure sensors using an innovative 3D printing method. Unlike conventional capacitive pressure sensors where the capacitance changes were due to the pressure-induced interspace variations between the parallel plate electrodes, in our capillary sensors the capacitance was determined by the extrusion and extraction of liquid medium and consequent changes of dielectric constants. Significant pressure sensitivity advances up to 547.9 KPa−1 were achieved. Moreover, we suggest that our innovative capillary pressure sensors can adopt a wide range of liquid mediums, such as ethanol, deionized water, and their mixtures. The devices also showed stable performances upon repeated pressing cycles. The direct and versatile printing method combined with the significant performance advances are expected to find important applications in future stretchable and wearable electronics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Printed Sensors 2018)
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14 pages, 61489 KiB  
Article
Self-Sensing of Position-Related Loads in Continuous Carbon Fibers-Embedded 3D-Printed Polymer Structures Using Electrical Resistance Measurement
by Congcong Luan, Xinhua Yao, Hongyao Shen and Jianzhong Fu
Sensors 2018, 18(4), 994; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18040994 - 27 Mar 2018
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 4592
Abstract
Condition monitoring in polymer composites and structures based on continuous carbon fibers show overwhelming advantages over other potentially competitive sensing technologies in long-gauge measurements due to their great electromechanical behavior and excellent reinforcement property. Although carbon fibers have been developed as strain- or [...] Read more.
Condition monitoring in polymer composites and structures based on continuous carbon fibers show overwhelming advantages over other potentially competitive sensing technologies in long-gauge measurements due to their great electromechanical behavior and excellent reinforcement property. Although carbon fibers have been developed as strain- or stress-sensing agents in composite structures through electrical resistance measurements, the electromechanical behavior under flexural loads in terms of different loading positions still lacks adequate research, which is the most common situation in practical applications. This study establishes the relationship between the fractional change in electrical resistance of carbon fibers and the external loads at different loading positions along the fibers’ longitudinal direction. An approach for real-time monitoring of flexural loads at different loading positions was presented simultaneously based on this relationship. The effectiveness and feasibility of the approach were verified by experiments on carbon fiber-embedded three-dimensional (3D) printed thermoplastic polymer beam. The error in using the provided approach to monitor the external loads at different loading positions was less than 1.28%. The study fully taps the potential of continuous carbon fibers as long-gauge sensory agents and reinforcement in the 3D-printed polymer structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Printed Sensors 2018)
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10 pages, 3715 KiB  
Article
Sensitive and Flexible Polymeric Strain Sensor for Accurate Human Motion Monitoring
by Hassan Khan, Amir Razmjou, Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani, Ajay Kottapalli and Mohsen Asadnia
Sensors 2018, 18(2), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18020418 - 01 Feb 2018
Cited by 63 | Viewed by 9339
Abstract
Flexible electronic devices offer the capability to integrate and adapt with human body. These devices are mountable on surfaces with various shapes, which allow us to attach them to clothes or directly onto the body. This paper suggests a facile fabrication strategy via [...] Read more.
Flexible electronic devices offer the capability to integrate and adapt with human body. These devices are mountable on surfaces with various shapes, which allow us to attach them to clothes or directly onto the body. This paper suggests a facile fabrication strategy via electrospinning to develop a stretchable, and sensitive poly (vinylidene fluoride) nanofibrous strain sensor for human motion monitoring. A complete characterization on the single PVDF nano fiber has been performed. The charge generated by PVDF electrospun strain sensor changes was employed as a parameter to control the finger motion of the robotic arm. As a proof of concept, we developed a smart glove with five sensors integrated into it to detect the fingers motion and transfer it to a robotic hand. Our results shows that the proposed strain sensors are able to detect tiny motion of fingers and successfully run the robotic hand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Printed Sensors 2018)
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