3D-printed liquid metal-based stretchable conductors and pressure sensors. (29th July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pinto, Thassyo; Chen, Claudia; Pinger, Cody; Tan, Xiaobo
• Is Part Of: Smart materials and structures. Volume 30:Number 9(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-07-29
• Subjects: soft robotics -- liquid metals -- 3D-printing -- stretchable sensors; Smart materials -- Periodicals; Strucural design -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/ac15a1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0964-1726

Abstract

Abstract: Microfluidic devices control fluids on the micrometer-scale and are commonly used for lab-on-chip applications, such as sensors, micropumps and biological analyzers. Commonly reported fabrication methods for achieving flexible microfluidic structures are labor-intensive, require many cumbersome steps, and have limited options for materials. This paper presents a rapid-manufacturing technique using a PolyJet 3D-printer for creating soft microfluidic substrates embedded with liquid metals to fabricate stretchable conductors and pressure sensors. By using this novel method, several spiral-shaped soft pressure sensors with multimaterial-based substrates are 3D-printed simultaneously in less than six minutes. Microfluidic channels with cross-sections ranging from 150 × 150 to 350 × 350 µ m are successfully achieved in a soft substrate. This 3D-printing method allows fabrication of complex, enclosed channels without any photocurable support material, thus minimizing post-processing time. Simulation and experiments are conducted to characterize the quasi-static and dynamic properties of the fabricated pressure sensor. In particular, experimental results show that these 3D-printed microfluidic pressure sensors are robust, capable of withstanding high pressures up to 1 MPa.