We present a capacitive force sensor based on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film integrated into a printed circuit board (PCB) on a flexible substrate whose layout is defined by inkjet printing. The influence of the dielectric thickness on the sensor behavior is presented. The thinner PDMS film of about 45 μm shows a sensitivity of up to 3 pF/N but poorer dynamic response. The dielectrics with thicknesses above 200 μm show a significantly reduced sensitivity. The best compromise between sensitivity and dynamic response is found for PDMS film of about 100 μm, showing about 1.1 pF/N and less than 15 s of recovery time. This film is integrated into a flexible PCBS including a microcontroller capable of evaluating the sensor. Interconnects of the circuit are defined by silver nanoparticles deposited by inkjet printing. The working principle of the circuit is demonstrated, proving that this simple approach can be used for artificial skin applications.
In the current work, applying a rotating magnetic field (RMF) is an innovative approach to improve the microstructure features and creep resistance of Sn-2.0Ag-2.0Zn (SAZ) alloy. The results revealed that RMF does not change intermetallic compounds (IMCs) constituents furthermore SAZ alloy with applying a magnetic field (SAZ-B) exhibited microstructure refinement and homogeneous distribution of IMCs. Moreover, SAZ-B displayed more creep resistance (∼366%) and greater creep rupture time (∼56.4%) than those of SAZ alloy. These results have great implications in improving the alloy’s performance for industrial applications.
For luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), it is important to enhance the fluorescence quantum yield (FQY) and photostability. Our measurements have demonstrated that the addition of silver nanoparticles to dye solution causes broadening of absorption bands, so the spectral range of sunlight absorbed by LSC has increased. Silver nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis absorption spectra. UV-Vis spectrum showed a single peak at 442 nm due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The position of SPR peak exhibited a red shift after the sample was exposed to UV irradiation (unfiltered light). The optical band gap values have a reduction from 2.46 to 2.37 eV after irradiation for 960 minutes. Such reduction in optical band gap may be due to change in particle size calculated using Mie theory. The photostability of organic dyes used was improved after adding silver nanoparticles. The area under fluorescence spectra of dyes with silver NPs increased by 41-31% when compared with identical dye concentrations without silver nanoparticles as a result of interaction of the species with silver NPs.
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