Fabrication of 3D Temperature Sensor Using Magnetostrictive Inkjet Printhead

Abstract Recently, the three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has attracted much attention for creating objects of arbitrary shape and manufacturing. For the first time, in this work, we present the fabrication of an inkjet printed low-cost 3D temperature sensor on a 3D-shaped thermoplastic substrate suitable for packaging, flexible electronics, and other printed applications. The design, fabrication, and testing of a 3D printed temperature sensor are presented. The sensor pattern is designed using a computer-aided design program and fabricated by drop-on-demand inkjet printing using a magnetostrictive inkjet printhead at room temperature. The sensor pattern is printed using commercially available conductive silver nanoparticle ink. A moving speed of 90 mm/min is chosen to print the sensor pattern. The inkjet printed temperature sensor is demonstrated, and it is characterized by good electrical properties, exhibiting good sensitivity and linearity. The results indicate that 3D inkjet printing technology may have great potential for applications in sensor fabrication.