Sensors on Nonconventional Substrates Developed through Printing Technologies

This paper presents the development of sensors on nonconventional substrates realized through the fast emerging printing technologies. Drop-on-demand inkjet, screen printing and aerosol jet printing are the leading rapid manufacturing techniques. The functional nanomaterials in their solution form are used for patterned deposition in a single pass making the process simple and very cost-effective. The patterned deposition and deterministic placement of various functional materials ranging from conducting, semiconducting and insulators are central to the development of a wide range of sensing devices. These devices being developed on nonconventional substrates particularly made from polymeric materials are playing significant role in advancements of printed wearable sensors and transducers. Here in this paper, we summarize some of our recent developments made towards realizing sensors on multiple substrates. A particular focus is oriented towards printing technologies for developing sensors in various geometric configurations. Also, few of the challenges faced by printing technologies are highlighted.