Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States.
ACS Sens. 2022 Aug 26;7(8):2400-2409. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.2c01059. Epub 2022 Aug 11.
Energy-efficient, miniaturized electronic ocean sensors for monitoring and recording various environmental parameters remain a challenge because conventional ocean sensors require high-pressure chambers and seals to survive the large hydrostatic pressure and harsh ocean environment, which usually entail a high-power supply and large size of the sensor system. Herein, we introduce soft, pressure-tolerant, flexible electronic sensors that can operate under large hydrostatic pressure and salinity environments, thereby eliminating the need for pressure chambers and reducing the power consumption and sensor size. Using resistive temperature and conductivity (salinity) sensors as an example for demonstration, the soft sensors are made of lithographically patterned metal thin films (100 nm) encapsulated with soft oil-infused elastomers and tested in a customized pressure vessel with well-controlled pressure and temperature conditions. The resistance of the temperature and pressure sensors increases linearly with a temperature range of 5-38 °C and salinity levels of 30-40 Practical Salinity Unit (PSU), respectively, relevant for this application. Pressure (up to 15 MPa) has shown a negligible effect on the performance of the temperature and salinity sensors, demonstrating their large pressure-tolerance capability. In addition, both temperature and salinity sensors have exhibited excellent cyclic loading behaviors with negligible hysteresis. Encapsulated with our developed soft oil-infused elastomer (PDMS, poly(dimethylsiloxane)), the sensor has shown excellent performance under a 35 PSU salinity water environment for more than 7 months. The soft, pressure-tolerant and noninvasive electronic sensors reported here are suitable for integration with many platforms including animal tags, profiling floats, diving equipment, and physiological monitoring.
用于监测和记录各种环境参数的节能、微型化电子海洋传感器仍然是一个挑战，因为传统的海洋传感器需要高压室和密封件才能在大静压和恶劣的海洋环境中生存，这通常需要高功率供应和传感器系统的大型化。在这里，我们介绍了柔软、耐压、灵活的电子传感器，它们可以在大静压和盐度环境下工作，从而无需使用压力室，并降低功耗和传感器尺寸。我们以电阻式温度和电导率（盐度）传感器为例进行演示，这些软传感器由光刻图案化的金属薄膜（100nm）封装在软油注入弹性体中，并在定制的压力容器中进行测试，该压力容器具有可控制的压力和温度条件。温度和压力传感器的电阻随温度范围在 5-38°C 和盐度水平在 30-40 实用盐度单位（PSU）之间呈线性增加，这与该应用相关。压力（高达 15MPa）对温度和盐度传感器的性能几乎没有影响，证明了它们的高耐压能力。此外，温度和盐度传感器都表现出了优异的循环加载行为，几乎没有滞后。封装在我们开发的软油注入弹性体（PDMS，聚二甲基硅氧烷）中，传感器在 35 PSU 盐度水环境下的性能超过 7 个月。这里报道的柔软、耐压、非侵入式的电子传感器适用于与许多平台集成，包括动物标签、剖面浮标、潜水设备和生理监测。
