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Development of high sensitivity oxide based strain gauges and pressure sensors

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Abstract

Strain gauges and pressure sensors are necessary tools for automotive, aerospace and biomedical monitoring applications. Of the various types of material, which can be used in their fabrication, oxides allow a degree of flexibility in their design. Furthermore, these devices are more rugged and cost effective than semiconductor sensors and have a higher sensitivity than metal-foil gauges. In this paper, the development of thin and thick film sensors based on oxides such as V2O5, CeO2, Bi2O3, In2O3, RuO2, TiO2, MgO and Nb2O5 is discussed. The devices are evaluated in terms of their sensitivity or gauge factor, linearity, hysteresis and long term stability. Furthermore, different device configurations, planar and sandwich are compared. It is found that the devices presented in this work have sensitivity comparable to that of semiconductor gauges, with good long-term stability. This is particularly true of the sandwich devices. It is observed that oxide based strain gauges may offer an alternative to existing commercial gauges, for example, in applications involving load cells, torque wrenches and limb implants.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Enterprise Ireland Commercialization Fund 2003, under technology development phase, as part of the MIAPS project, reference no. CFTD/03/425. Funding was also received from the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology: funded by the National Development Plan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electronic and Computer Engineering Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    K. Arshak & O. Korostynska

  2. Physics Department, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    D. Morris & A. Arshak

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  1. K. Arshak
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  2. D. Morris
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  3. A. Arshak
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  4. O. Korostynska
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Correspondence to K. Arshak.

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Arshak, K., Morris, D., Arshak, A. et al. Development of high sensitivity oxide based strain gauges and pressure sensors. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 17, 767–778 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-006-0013-4

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