Wagih, M. , Shi, J., Li, M., Komolafe, A., Whittaker, T., Schneider, J. , Kumar, S. , Whittow, W. and Beeby, S. (2024) Wide-range soft anisotropic thermistor with a direct wireless radio frequency interface. Nature Communications, 15, 452. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44735-z) (PMID:38199999)
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Abstract
Temperature sensors are one of the most fundamental sensors and are found in industrial, environmental, and biomedical applications. The traditional approach of reading the resistive response of Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistors at DC hindered their adoption as wide-range temperature sensors. Here, we present a large-area thermistor, based on a flexible and stretchable short carbon fibre incorporated Polydimethylsiloxane composite, enabled by a radio frequency sensing interface. The radio frequency readout overcomes the decades-old sensing range limit of thermistors. The composite exhibits a resistance sensitivity over 1000 °C−1, while maintaining stability against bending (20,000 cycles) and stretching (1000 cycles). Leveraging its large-area processing, the anisotropic composite is used as a substrate for sub-6 GHz radio frequency components, where the thermistor-based microwave resonators achieve a wide temperature sensing range (30 to 205 °C) compared to reported flexible temperature sensors, and high sensitivity (3.2 MHz/°C) compared to radio frequency temperature sensors. Wireless sensing is demonstrated using a microstrip patch antenna based on a thermistor substrate, and a battery-less radio frequency identification tag. This radio frequency-based sensor readout technique could enable functional materials to be directly integrated in wireless sensing applications.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | We would like to thank Harry Beeby for his help characterising the RFID thermistor and preparing the datasets and Aran Amin for his help obtaining SEM micrographs. This work was supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Grant EP/P010164/1 (S.B. and M.W.) and EP/S030301/1 (W.W.), the UK Royal Society under the Research Grant “STEMS” RGS\R1\231028 (M.W), the UK Royal Academy of Engineering and the Office of the Chief Science Adviser for National Security under the UK Intelligence Community Research Fellowship programme (M.W.) and the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Chairs in Emerging Technologies scheme (S.B.). |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Schneider, Johannes and Wagih, Dr Mahmoud and Kumar, Professor Shanmugam |
| Authors: | Wagih, M., Shi, J., Li, M., Komolafe, A., Whittaker, T., Schneider, J., Kumar, S., Whittow, W., and Beeby, S. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy |
| Journal Name: | Nature Communications |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2041-1723 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024 |
| First Published: | First published in Nature Communications 15: 452 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.1536 |
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