A NEW FABRICATION PROCESS FOR A FLEXIBLE SKIN WITH TEMPERATURE SENSOR ARRAY

In the present study, a new technique for fabrication of a flexible skin with 64 sensors inside a 7×7 mm² area is reported. Each sensor has a dimension of 110 μm×110 μm. A simplified fabrication process using platinum resistors as sensing materials and polyimide layers as flexible substrates is developed. Systematic investigation of the performance of the sensors has been conducted, including sensors on rigid and flexible substrates for comparison. Sensors on rigid substrates have a sensitivity of 74.6 mV/°C with a cut-off frequency of 90 kHz using a constant-current circuit. Sensors on the flexible skin have been experimentally proven to have the same sensitivity as those on the rigid substrate. Moreover, the frequency response has been improved due to lower inertia for sensors on the flexible skin. The flexible skin with a temperature sensor array could be easily attached on a highly curved surface to detect temperature distribution inside a small area. The development of the temperature sensor array on the flexible skin could be crucial for temperature measurement in the fields of aerodynamics, space exploration, automaking etc. © 2002, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.