A silicon ring resonant tactile sensor for material elasticity measurement

Tactile sensors for measuring elastic properties of soft tissues have been previously implemented using large piezoelectric elements. However, due to limited sensitivity and spatial resolution inherent to the large form factor, their applications are limited. In this work, we report a miniaturized ring-shaped resonant tactile sensor for material elasticity measurement. The sensor, which is based on a silicon ring resonator incorporated with a rounded sensing tip and a mechanical stopper, is able to recognize materials of different young's modulus in the GPa range.