Strain-Sensitive Inkjet-Printed Nanoparticle Films on Flexible Substrates

Patterned metal nanostructured films on plastic substrates can be used as the active elements of flexible strain sensors. Herein, we report the adaptation of an inkjet-based process for the room temperature fabrication of silver nanoparticle-based strain-sensitive films on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates with a gauge factor (
$g$
) of 25 and a negligible temperature coefficient of resistance. The process is also readily extended to latex substrates for human motion detection.