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A flexible dual-function capacitive sensor enhanced by loop-patterned fibrous electrode and doped dielectric pillars for spatial perception

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Abstract

The integrated perception capable of detecting and monitoring varieties of activities is one of the ultimate purposes of wearable electronics and intelligent robots. Limited by the space occupation, it lacks practical feasibility to stack multiple types of single sensors on each other. Herein, a high-sensitivity dual-function capacitive sensor with proximity sensing and pressure sensing is proposed. The fringing electric field can be confined in the proximity-sensitive area by fibrous loop-patterned electrode, leading to more stolen charges when object approaching and thus a high proximity sensitivity. The high-permittivity doped structured dielectric layer reduces the compressive stiffness and enhances the rate of compression-caused increase in the equivalent relative permittivity of the dielectric layer, resulting in a larger increase in capacitance and thus a high pressure sensitivity. The electrodes and dielectric layer together compose the capacitor and act as the sensor without taking up additional space. The decoupling of proximity-sensing and pressure-sensing modes can be achieved by decrease or increase in capacitance. Combined with array distribution and sequential scanning, the sensors can be used for detection of motion trajectory, contour recognition, and pressure distribution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFB2011500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52025055 and 51905415), Institutional Foundation of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, the China Gas Turbine Establishment of Aero Engine Corporation of China (No. GJCZ-2019-0039), the National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (No. BX20180251), Young Talent Fund of University Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi, China (No. 20200404), Basic Research Program of Natural Science of Shaanxi Province of China (Nos.2019JLM-5 and 2021JLM-42), and Shaanxi University Youth Innovation Team.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Micro- and Nano-technology Research Center, State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Yongsong Luo, Xiaoliang Chen, Xiangming Li, Hongmiao Tian, Liang Wang & Jinyou Shao

  2. Frontier Institute of Science and Technology (FIST), Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Yongsong Luo, Xiaoliang Chen & Jinyou Shao

Authors
  1. Yongsong Luo
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  2. Xiaoliang Chen
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  3. Xiangming Li
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  4. Hongmiao Tian
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  5. Liang Wang
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Correspondence to Xiaoliang Chen or Jinyou Shao.

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A flexible dual-function capacitive sensor enhanced by loop-patterned fibrous electrode and doped dielectric pillars for spatial perception

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Luo, Y., Chen, X., Li, X. et al. A flexible dual-function capacitive sensor enhanced by loop-patterned fibrous electrode and doped dielectric pillars for spatial perception. Nano Res. 16, 7550–7558 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5309-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5309-z

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