Abstract

In this paper, we propose a flexible piezoelectric MEMS transducer based on aluminum nitride thin film grown on polyimide soft substrate and developed for tactile sensing purposes. The proposed device consists of circular micro-cells, with a radius of 350 μm, made of polycrystalline c-axis textured AlN. The release of compressive stress by crystalline layers over polymer substrate allows an enhanced transduction response when the cell is patterned in circular dome-shaped geometries. The fabricated cells show an electromechanical response within the full scale range of 80 mN (200 kPa) both for dynamic and static load. The device is able to detect dynamic forces by exploiting both piezoelectric and flexoelectric capabilities of the aluminum nitride cells in a combined and synergistic sensing that occurs as voltage generation. No additional power supply is required to provide the electrical readout signals, making this technology suitable candidate when low power consumption is demanding. Moreover a capacitance variation under constant stress is observed, allowing the detection of static forces. The sensing ability of the AlN-based cells has been tested using an ad hoc setup, measuring both the applied load and the generated voltage and capacitance variation.

Autore Pugliese

• De Vittorio Massimo

Tutti gli autori

• Mastronardi V. M. , Ceseracciu L. , Guido F. , Rizzi F. , Athanassiou A. , De Vittorio M. , Petroni S.

Titolo volume/Rivista

APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

Anno di pubblicazione

2015

ISSN

0003-6951

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

9

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

28/04/2018

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile