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Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 23034

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Eduardo García Breijo

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Guest Editor

Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: printed sensors; printed electronics; thick-film sensors; textile sensors; screen-printed technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sensors incorporated into a textile substrate have been undergoing great development in recent years, thanks to the appearance of materials, both textiles and inks, which allow better sensor-textile integration. Furthermore, screen-printing technology with a very long tradition in the textile industry greatly facilitates the use of inks with electrical characteristics in said industry. In this framework, this Special Issue is aimed at the submission of both review and original research articles related to printed sensors on textiles.

This Special Issue is open to contributions that cover any field of technology, not only sensors to be used on the human body but also on any text element in environments, such as healthcare, automotive, home, etc.

Prof. Dr. Eduardo García Breijo
Guest Editor

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

E-textile
Wearable sensor
Flexible printed sensors
Sensors on textile
Screen-printing technology
Smart fabric inks
Printed electronics
Flexible hybrids electronics wearables
Textile modification
Wash durability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 14395 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Temperature Soldering of Surface Mount Devices on Screen-Printed Silver Tracks on Fabrics for Flexible Textile Hybrid Electronics

by Rocío Silvestre, Raúl Llinares Llopis, Laura Contat Rodrigo, Víctor Serrano Martínez, Josué Ferri and Eduardo Garcia-Breijo

Sensors 2022, 22(15), 5766; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22155766 - 02 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2089

Abstract

The combination of flexible-printed substrates and conventional electronics leads to flexible hybrid electronics. When fabrics are used as flexible substrates, two kinds of problems arise. The first type is related to the printing of the tracks of the corresponding circuit. The second one concerns the incorporation of conventional electronic devices, such as integrated circuits, on the textile substrate. Regarding the printing of tracks, this work studies the optimal design parameters of screen-printed silver tracks on textiles focused on printing an electronic circuit on a textile substrate. Several patterns of different widths and gaps between tracks were tested in order to find the best design parameters for some footprint configurations. With respect to the incorporation of devices on textile substrates, the paper analyzes the soldering of surface mount devices on fabric substrates. Due to the substrate’s nature, low soldering temperatures must be used to avoid deformations or damage to the substrate caused by the higher temperatures used in conventional soldering. Several solder pastes used for low-temperature soldering are analyzed in terms of joint resistance and shear force application. The results obtained are satisfactory, demonstrating the viability of using flexible hybrid electronics with fabrics. As a practical result, a simple single-layer circuit was implemented to check the results of the research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology)

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28 pages, 9144 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screen Printing Carbon Nanotubes Textiles Antennas for Smart Wearables

by Isidoro Ibanez Labiano, Dilan Arslan, Elif Ozden Yenigun, Amir Asadi, Hulya Cebeci and Akram Alomainy

Sensors 2021, 21(14), 4934; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21144934 - 20 Jul 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5321

Abstract

Electronic textiles have become a dynamic research field in recent decades, attracting attention to smart wearables to develop and integrate electronic devices onto clothing. Combining traditional screen-printing techniques with novel nanocarbon-based inks offers seamless integration of flexible and conformal antenna patterns onto fabric substrates with a minimum weight penalty and haptic disruption. In this study, two different fabric-based antenna designs called PICA and LOOP were fabricated through a scalable screen-printing process by tuning the conductive ink formulations accompanied by cellulose nanocrystals. The printing process was controlled and monitored by revealing the relationship between the textiles’ nature and conducting nano-ink. The fabric prototypes were tested in dynamic environments mimicking complex real-life situations, such as being in proximity to a human body, and being affected by wrinkling, bending, and fabric care such as washing or ironing. Both computational and experimental on-and-off-body antenna gain results acknowledged the potential of tunable material systems complimenting traditional printing techniques for smart sensing technology as a plausible pathway for future wearables. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology)

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15 pages, 2134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Analysis of Electrodes for Electrostimulation (TENS) Using the Technique of Film Printing and Embroidery in Textiles

by Ewa Skrzetuska, Daria Michalak and Izabella Krucińska

Sensors 2021, 21(14), 4789; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21144789 - 13 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3118

Abstract

This article describes the development of transcutaneous nerve stimulating electrodes (TENS) by means of electrically conductive ink and conductive yarn. The scope of work covered a selection of three types of knitwear with a similar surface weight with different raw material composition. Stimulating electrodes were made by means of film printing and machine embroidery. The electrodes were verified after friction tests, washing, and mechanical deformation. Each process was followed by a check of the resistive properties and assessment of the sensations in order to evaluate their performance. Tests of the surface resistance of research materials confirmed the possibility of preparing textile electrodes for electrostimulation with the use of the film-printing technique and machine embroidery. Resistance of the electrodes made on all types of substrates ranged from approximately 1.00 × 10⁻² Ω to around 2.00 × 10² Ω, while the electrodes are commercially available at the level of approximately 3.5 × 10⁵ Ω. This paper underpins the validation of the conclusion that operational processes do not adversely affect the functioning of the developed textile electrodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology)

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24 pages, 8820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexible Hybrid Electrodes for Continuous Measurement of the Local Temperature in Long-Term Wounds

by Ana María Rodes-Carbonell, Juan Torregrosa-Valls, Antonio Guill Ibáñez, Alvaro Tormos Ferrando, María Aránzazu Juan Blanco and Antonio Cebrián Ferriols

Sensors 2021, 21(8), 2741; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082741 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2943

Abstract

Long-term wounds need a continuous assessment of different biophysical parameters for their treatment, and there is a lack of affordable biocompatible devices capable of obtaining that uninterrupted flow of data. A portable prototype that allows caregivers to know the local temperature behavior of a long-term wound over time and compare it with different reference zones has been developed. Alternative flexible substrates, screen-printing techniques, polymeric inks, and an embedded system have been tested to achieve potential indicators of the status and evolution of chronic wounds. The final system is formed by temperature sensors attached to a flexible and stretchable medical-grade substrate, where silver conductive tracks have been printed as interconnections with the data-acquisition unit. In addition, a specific datalogger has been developed for this system. The whole set will enable health personnel to acquire the temperature of the wound and its surroundings in order to make decisions regarding the state and evolution of the wound. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology)

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Review

Jump to: Research

24 pages, 4177 KiB

Open AccessReview

Wearable Smart Textiles for Long-Term Electrocardiography Monitoring—A Review

by Abreha Bayrau Nigusse, Desalegn Alemu Mengistie, Benny Malengier, Granch Berhe Tseghai and Lieva Van Langenhove

Sensors 2021, 21(12), 4174; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21124174 - 17 Jun 2021

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 8241

Abstract

The continuous and long-term measurement and monitoring of physiological signals such as electrocardiography (ECG) are very important for the early detection and treatment of heart disorders at an early stage prior to a serious condition occurring. The increasing demand for the continuous monitoring of the ECG signal needs the rapid development of wearable electronic technology. During wearable ECG monitoring, the electrodes are the main components that affect the signal quality and comfort of the user. This review assesses the application of textile electrodes for ECG monitoring from the fundamentals to the latest developments and prospects for their future fate. The fabrication techniques of textile electrodes and their performance in terms of skin–electrode contact impedance, motion artifacts and signal quality are also reviewed and discussed. Textile electrodes can be fabricated by integrating thin metal fiber during the manufacturing stage of textile products or by coating textiles with conductive materials like metal inks, carbon materials, or conductive polymers. The review also discusses how textile electrodes for ECG function via direct skin contact or via a non-contact capacitive coupling. Finally, the current intensive and promising research towards finding textile-based ECG electrodes with better comfort and signal quality in the fields of textile, material, medical and electrical engineering are presented as a perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Textile Sensors Based on Printed Electronics Technology)

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