In-Process And In-Use Modulation Of Sensitivity And Sensing Range For CMOS-MEMS Tactile Sensor With Dielectric PDMS Nanocomposite

This study presents a CMOS-MEMS tactile sensor fill-in with dielectric PDMS nanocomposite to batch fabricate and modulate the sensing range and sensitivity (Fig. 1). Merits of the sensor are: (1) In-process batch selective modulation by input voltage: apply different voltages on uncured dielectric PDMS nanocomposite fill-in simultaneously, tactile sensors with different sensing ranges and sensitivities are batch fabricated after polymer curing (Fig. 2); (2) In-use selective modulation by input voltage: the sensing range and sensitivity of each tactile sensor can still be modulated after the process by applying voltage on cured dielectric PDMS nanocomposite (Fig. 3). Moreover, sensing range and sensitivity can be further modulated using different dielectric PDMS nanocomposites. The tactile sensor is implemented using TSMC 0.18μm 1P6M CMOS process, in-house post-CMOS releasing and dielectric PDMS nanocomposite filling processes. Measurement results demonstrate the in-process modulation could modulate sensing range (60mN to 100mN) and sensitivity (maximum 2-fold enhancement) Moreover, the in-use modulation could further modulate sensitivity from 1.1fF/mN to 4.8fF/mN and sensing range from 100mN to 35mN.