Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium which people have been in contact with for thousands of years. Its presence often leads to severe disorders of the respiratory and circulatory systems. The authors of this article present a prototype of a textronic sensor enabling the detection of this bacterium. This sensor was created using a process of physical vacuum deposition on a flexible textile substrate which can be implemented on clothing. With increasing numbers of bacterial colonies, changes in the sensor’s electrical parameters were observed. The sensor’s resistance reduced by 50% and the capacitance more than doubled within the first two days of starting bacterial cultures. Extensive changes in electrical parameters were observed at 100 Hz and 120 Hz of the measurement signal.

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In this paper, the authors describe the distribution of temperatures around electroconductive pathways created by a physical vacuum deposition process on flexible textile substrates used in elastic electronics and textronics. Cordura material was chosen as the substrate. Silver with 99.99% purity was used as the deposited metal. This research was based on thermographic photographs of the produced samples. Analysis of the temperature field around the electroconductive layer was carried out using Image ThermaBase EU software. The analysis of the temperature distribution highlights the software’s usefulness in determining the homogeneity of the created metal layer. Higher local temperatures and non-uniform distributions at the same time can negatively influence the work of the textronic system.

This paper compares methods for measuring selected morphological features on the surface of thin metallic layers applied to flexible textile substrates. The methods were tested on a silver layer with a thickness of several hundred nanometers, which was applied to a textile composite with the trade name Cordura. Measurements were carried out at the micro scale using both optical coherent tomography (OCT) and the traditional contact method of using a profilometer. Measurements at the micro-scale proved the superiority of the OCT method over the contact method. The method of contactless measurement employs a dedicated algorithm for three-dimensional surface image analysis and does not affect the delicate surface structure of the measured layer in any way. Assessment of the surface profile of textile substrates and the thin films created on them, is important when estimating the contact angle, wetting behavior, or mechanical durability of the created metallic structure that can be used as the electrodes or elements of wearable electronics or textronics systems.