Wireless wide-range pressure sensor based on graphene/PDMS sponge for tactile monitoring

We propose a flexible wireless pressure sensor, which uses a graphene/polydimethylsiloxane (GR/PDMS) sponge as the dielectric layer. The sponge is sandwiched between two surfaces of a folded flexible printed circuit with patterned Cu as the antenna and electrode. By adjusting graphene and NH4HCO3 concentrations, a composite with 20% concentration of NH4HCO3 and 2% concentration of graphene as the dielectric layer is obtained, which exhibits high sensitivity (2.2 MHz/kPa), wide operating range (0–500 kPa), rapid response time (~7 ms), low detection limit (5 Pa), and good stability, recoverability, and repeatability. In addition, the sensor is sensitive to finger bending and facial muscle movements for smile and frown, that are transmitted using wireless electromagnetic coupling; therefore, it has potential for a wide range of applications such as intelligent robots, bionic-electronic skin and wearable electronic devices.