Investigation of the Transduction Mechanism of Few Layer SnS₂ for Pressure and Strain Sensing: Experimental Correlation With First Principles Study

Flexible pressure and strain sensors have gained popularity in various potential applications such as artificial e-skin, healthcare etc. However, the underlying transduction mechanism of pressure and strain sensors are often not studied in detail and only a qualitative analysis is presented which restricts the better understanding as well as design optimization of the system. In present work, a flexible pressure and strain sensor was fabricated using Tin disulfide (SnS
₂
) deposited on paper substrate and enclosed in between Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The sensors electrical characterization revealed a sensitivity of 106.83 kPa
^-1
and 22.83 for pressure and strain sensors respectively. The first principle calculation has been exploited to analyze the electronic properties of few layer SnS
₂
under applied tensile strain and normal pressure leading to a clear correlation between the underlying physics of strain/pressure and the electronic transport properties of SnS
₂
network. It has been observed that the effective masses significantly influence the inter SnS2 tunneling component which eventually determines the overall conductivity of the SnS
₂
network. The successful demonstration of both experimental and theoretical understanding of 2D materials based physical sensors opens up new avenues of research in flexible and wearable electronics.