Enhanced Graphene Sensors via Multi-Lasing Fabrication

Resistive strain and bending sensors offer a versatile platform for sensing various physical parameters with relatively little effort and budget. The lightweight, robust and compact sensors are extensively used in manifold low-power applications. Recently, scribed and flexible laser-induced graphene sensors have shown potent capabilities for a variety of measurements, including flow, deflection, and force. Achieving a high sensitivity to various stimuli remains a challenge due to limited change in relative resistance. In this paper, we report a multifunctional LIG sensor with widely tunable properties and significantly enhanced electromechanical performance. A method of repeated laser writing is used to increase the porosity, the uniform carbonization degree and, most importantly, the sensitivity of the LIG sensors. A gauge factor of 91.2 is achieved after three-times laser writing at low power, which is an increase of 750% to one-time laser writing and 720% higher than the ones previously reported for LIG strain sensors. The increase is attributed to a more porous surface morphology that provides more overlapping area and displacement of the graphene layers. A homogeneous bidirectional response was obtained by scribing the electrodes on both faces of the substrate. Parylene C-coating is used to protect the LIG sensors from environmental effects. Coated sensors were packaged to a PCB assembly for easy integration into various applications. An example is a LIG bending sensor customized for velocity profile monitoring of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the outdoor environment.