Passive wireless strain and pH sensing using carbon nanotube-gold nanocomposite thin films

Kenneth J. Loh; Jerome P. Lynch; Nicholas A. Kotov

doi:10.1117/12.715826

10 April 2007 Passive wireless strain and pH sensing using carbon nanotube-gold nanocomposite thin films

Kenneth J. Loh, Jerome P. Lynch, Nicholas A. Kotov

Proceedings Volume 6529, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2007; 652919 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.715826
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The recent development of wireless sensors for structural health monitoring has revealed their strong dependency on portable, limited battery supplies. Unlike current wireless sensors, passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems based on inductive coupling can wirelessly receive power from a portable reader while transmitting collected data back. In this paper, preliminary results of a novel inductively coupled strain and corrosion sensor based upon material fabrication techniques from the nanotechnology field are presented. By varying polyelectrolyte species during a layer-by-layer fabrication process, carbon nanotube-polyelectrolyte multilayer thin film sensors sensitive to different mechanical (e.g. strain) and chemical (e.g. pH) stimuli can be produced. Validation studies conducted with different carbon nanotube thin films designed as either strain or pH sensors reveal high sensitivity and linear performance. When coupled with a copper inductive coil antenna, resulting RFID-based sensors exhibit wirelessly readable changes in resonant frequency and bandwidth. Furthermore, a carbon nanotube-gold nanocomposite thin film is fabricated and patterned into a highly conductive coil structure to realize a novel thin film inductive antenna. Preliminary results indicate that nanotube-gold nanocomposites exhibit resonance conditions, holding great promise for future RFID applications.

Citation Download Citation

Kenneth J. Loh, Jerome P. Lynch, and Nicholas A. Kotov "Passive wireless strain and pH sensing using carbon nanotube-gold nanocomposite thin films", Proc. SPIE 6529, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2007, 652919 (10 April 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.715826

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