Scalable Deposition of Nanomaterial-Based Temperature Sensors for Transparent and Pervasive Electronics

Abstract

This work presents a comparative analysis of materials for planar semitransparent thermocouples fabricated by spray deposition on a flexible substrate. Three different materials are employed to build such devices, analyzing also the effect of the spray order in their final performance. The highest Seebeck coefficient (50.4 μV/K) is found for a junction made of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on top of silver nanowires (AgNWs) whereas its efficiency in terms of power is the lowest because of the higher sheet resistance of the CNTs. In this case, the best combination for energy-harvesting purposes would be poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and AgNWs, with a power factor of 219 fW/K2. These results prove the feasibility of developing large-scale and cost-effective thermocouples that could be used for sensing or energy-harvesting applications.

Screen-Printed Chipless Wireless Temperature Sensor

“…Printable, sensitive materials for many physical parameters have been developed and sensor solution developed. Among them, temperature sensors have been researched extensively and a large variety is available [13][14][15].…”

Flexible thin film thermocouples: From structure, material, fabrication to application

“… 109 PI AgNWs/CNT CNTs/PEDOT AgNWs/PEDOT 50.4 ± 5.68 26.9 ± 2.87 14.8 ± 0.83 Δ80 inkjet printing Albrecht et al. 110 PVDF-HFP, Polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene; NaTFSI, Sodium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; PC, Propylene carbonate; PET, Polyethylene terephthalate; PI, Polyimide; PDMS, Polydimethylsiloxane; CNCs, Carbon nanocoils; PSSH, PSSHPoly(4-styrenesulfonic acid); WPU, Waterborne polyurethane; AgNW, Ag nanowire. …”

Cost-Effective PEDOT:PSS Temperature Sensors Inkjetted on a Bendable Substrate by a Consumer Printer

“…Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is a solution-based organic material that is commercially readily available for many types of applications. It is well-known for its ease-of-processing that allows for depositing it under ambient conditions using scalable deposition methods such as spray coating [1,2], screen printing [3,4], and inkjet printing [5,6]. Further, PEDOT [7,8,9,10], as well as PEDOT:PSS, were shown to be biocompatible [9,11].…”