Flexible multimode pressure sensor based on liquid metal

In this paper, a novel multimode liquid metal-based pressure sensor is developed. The main body of the sensor is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. The structure of the sensor looks like a sandwich, in which the upper structure contains a cylindrical cavity, and the bottom structure contains a spiral microchannel, and the middle partition layer separates the upper and the bottom structures. Then, the liquid metal is injected into the top cavity and the bottom microchannel. Based on linear elastic fracture mechanics, the deformation of the microchannel cross-section is theoretically analyzed. The changes of resistance, capacitance, and inductance of the microchannel under pressure are deduced, and the corresponding theoretical models are established. The theoretical values of the pressure sensor are in good agreement with experimental data, implying that the developed theoretical model can explain the performance of the sensor well.