Flexible Shear Sensor Based on Embedded Optoelectronic Components
| Authors: | J. Missine, B. Van Hoe, G. Van Steenberge, S. Kalathimekkad, P. Van Daele, J. Vanfleteren |
| Abstract: |
Tactile shear stresses play an important role in the medical field and robotics. Tomonitor these stresses in situ, there is a need for unobtrusive flexible sensors that can be wrapped around curved surfaces or moving body parts. The presented sensor is based on changing coupling of optical power between a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and a photodiode facing each other and separated by a deformable transducer layer. The required optoelectronic components were embedded in a polymer foil of only 40 m thick, yielding a very thin and flexible total sensor stack of 250 m thick. In the linear part of the range (between 2 and 5.5N), the sensitivity of the prototype was 350 A/N; the maximum measurable force was 5.5 N. However, by selecting the appropriate deformable sensor transducer material, the sensitivity and range can be tuned for a specific application. |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Start Page: | 771 |
| End Page: | 773 |
| Journal title: | IEEE Photonics Technology Letters |
| Volume: | 23 |
| Issue: | 12 |
| DOI: | 10.1109/LPT.2011.2134844 |
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