Tunneling piezoresistive tactile sensing array fabricated by a novel fabrication process with membrane filters

In this work, a highly-sensitive tactile sensor array using the tunneling piezoresistive effect is presented. The sensing element, which is made of multi-wall carbon nanotubes and polydimethylsiloxane (MWCNT and PDMS) conductive polymer, was patterned with microdome structures by a novel fabrication process on a membrane filter substrate. The fabricated sensing device features advantages such as ultra-high sensitivity, flexibility, and simple fabrication process. The tunneling piezoresistive effects of the interlocked microdome structures with different MWCNT concentrations are demonstrated. The resistance change of the sensor array due to different elbow-bending motion was measured. Force images were also obtained by using an 8×8 sensing array with different patterns.