Ag Nanoparticle/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite Films for High-Sensitivity Strain Gauge Applications

This paper presents a type of Ag/polydimethylsiloxane (Ag/PDMS) nanocomposite material for use in strain gauge element applications. In these elements, the Ag nanoparticles work as conductive elements by electron tunneling and the PDMS forms the tunneling dielectricstructure. In our experiments, the piezoresistance and piezocapacitance characteristics of these Ag/PDMS composites have been studiedunder applied rain/stress. From the results, the gauge factors for piezoresistance and piezocapacitance can reach up to 153 and 224, respectively. Also, when acting as strain elements, the Ag/PDMS composites show fine levels of repeatability and stability. The results given here prove that the material can be used to form anew type of high-sensitivity element for sensor applications. The detectionmethod used for the sensor signals also offersdiversity by including both piezoresistance and piezocapacitance.