Analog Workshop 2023

Silicon based stress sensors for flexible tactile sensing applications

Typical tactile sensors that are used commercially are based on capactitive sensing mechanism. They normally require a conducting surface to detect contact and hence are more prone to stray capacitances. This works demonstrates how silicon can be used to create highly sensitive force/stress sensors. The piezoresisitive propery of silicon can be used to design sensors with low resolution with the added advantage of directional sensitivity. Additionally these sensors can be made using the well established CMOS fabrication techniques thereby making it much easier for large scale manufacturing.