Stimulus-responsive conductive inks for remote sensing applications

互联网的出现真正连接了世界，使人们能够前所未有地访问远程存储的数据。科学和工程领域的最新进展使得新型廉价便携式传感器的开发成为可能，越来越多地允许人们独立收集关于他们的世界（例如温度计，全球定位系统），他们自己的健康和健康（例如便携式葡萄糖测试仪）以及他们的日常活动（例如集成计步器）的数据。同样，我们越来越多地观察到复杂测试系统的小型化，这些系统可以从实验室转移到现场。 实现便携式、廉价传感器的一种途径是通过使用刺激响应材料--这种材料可以感知环境的变化，并在性质上发生可测量的变化。该提案的目标是：（1）开发和探索能够响应所需刺激而发生电特性变化的材料，以及（2）将这些材料集成到功能传感系统中，特别是基于射频识别（RFID）技术。RFID标签是一种成熟的技术，相对便宜，并且可以使用手持阅读器进行远程监控。RFID标签广泛用于产品跟踪，因为它们在询问时返回唯一的标识号。我设想将新型刺激响应导电材料纳入RFID标签的天线中，并使用随着传感材料的特性变化而发生的信号反射率的变化来量化感兴趣的刺激。本着开发低成本传感器的精神，工作的重点将是利用廉价和可扩展的印刷技术来图案化刺激响应材料。还将探讨材料的电性能和用于图案化它们的沉积技术之间的关系。通过结合具有定制特性的刺激响应材料，可以开发用于环境监测、化学检测和食品安全的传感器。

The advent of the internet has truly connected the world, enabling an unprecedented access to remotely-stored data. Recent advances in science and engineering are enabling the development of a new class of inexpensive, portable sensors, increasingly allowing people to independently collect data regarding their world (e.g. thermometers, global positioning system), their own health and wellness (e.g. portable glucose testers), and their daily activities (e.g. integrated pedometers). Similarly, we are increasingly observing the miniaturization of complex testing systems, which can be moved out of the lab and into the field.  One avenue to realizing portable, inexpensive sensors is through the use of stimulus-responsive materials - materials which can sense a change in their environment and undergo a measurable change in property. The goals of this proposal are: (1) to develop and explore materials which can undergo a change in electrical properties in response to a desired stimulus, and (2) to integrate these materials into functional sensing systems, particularly based around radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID tags are a mature technology which are relatively inexpensive, and which can be remotely monitored using a hand-held reader. RFID tags are utilized extensively in product tracking, as they return a unique identification number when interrogated. I envision incorporating novel stimulus-responsive conductive materials into the antennas of RFID tags, and using the change in signal reflectance that occurs as the properties of the sensing material change to quantify the stimulus of interest. In the spirit of developing low cost sensors, a focus of the work will be to utilize inexpensive and scalable printing techniques to pattern the stimulus-responsive materials. The relationship between the electrical properties of the materials and the deposition techniques used to pattern them will also be explored. Through incorporation of stimulus-responsive materials with tailored properties, sensors for environmental monitoring, chemical detection, and food safety can be developed.