Sampling of Tactile Sensing Array Signal Using a Thick-Film Circuit

How many of the external leads in a tactile sensor array had a great impact on sensor’s manufacturing process、signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and actual applications. This paper introduces a method that using a local thick-film circuit to implement a tactile sensing array and the output of sampling signals, which makes a piezoresistive tactile sensor with a 16×16 array of taxels and a 1 mm interval only need 5 external leads. On the basis of presenting the structure and manufacturing process of a sensor, we also illustrate a data acquisition circuit. Because of selecting a process of integrating all functional circuits to a sensor in the form of a thick-film circuit, the whole sensor is miniaturized and its external lines are minimized, which makes it convenient to be utilized in a variety of fields. Finally, several properties of the sensor are tested and evaluated.