Investigation of the Transduction Mechanism of Few Layer SnS₂ for Pressure and Strain Sensing: Experimental Correlation With First Principles Study

Abstract

Flexible pressure and strain sensors have gained popularity in various potential applications such as artificial e-skin, healthcare etc. However, the underlying transduction mechanism of pressure and strain sensors are often not studied in detail and only a qualitative analysis is presented which restricts the better understanding as well as design optimization of the system. In present work, a flexible pressure and strain sensor was fabricated using Tin disulfide (SnS2) deposited on paper substrate and enclosed in between Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The sensors electrical characterization revealed a sensitivity of 106.83 kPa−1 and 22.83 for pressure and strain sensors respectively. The first principle calculation has been exploited to analyze the electronic properties of few layer SnS2 under applied tensile strain and normal pressure leading to a clear correlation between the underlying physics of strain/pressure and the electronic transport properties of SnS2 network. It has been observed that the effective masses significantly influence the inter SnS2 tunneling component which eventually determines the overall conductivity of the SnS2 network. The successful demonstration of both experimental and theoretical understanding of 2D materials based physical sensors opens up new avenues of research in flexible and wearable electronics.