A Highly-Sensitive Pressure Sensor Based on Percolative Nanoparticle Arrays Formed by Dewetting Effect

This work proposes a highly-sensitive pressure sensor based on the percolation effect. The device consists of a metal nanoparticle array (NPA), a flexible interdigital electrode film (IEF), and a sealed cavity. The NPA is realized by the dewetting of a thin silver film deposited on the IEF. The pressure-sensing mechanism of the NPA is based on the deformation-dependent percolation effect. The measured results show that the proposed devices give good linear responses around 1 atm (750±30 Torr) with the maximum sensitivity of about 0.01 kPa
^-1
. The device possesses the advantages such as high sensitivity and reduced thermal disturbance.