Shigeo Nishikawa

Flexible tension sensor based on poly(l-lactic acid) film with coaxial structure

We have developed a tension sensor with a coaxial structure using a narrow slit ribbon made of a uniaxially stretched poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) film for application to a wearable device. The tension sensor is produced as follows. We used tinsel wire as the center conductor of the sensor. The tinsel wire consists of a yarn of synthetic fibers arranged at the center, with a spirally wound rolled copper foil ribbon on the side surface. Next, slit ribbons obtained from a uniaxially oriented film of PLLA are wound helically on the side surface of the center conductor in the direction of a left-handed screw, at an angle of 45° to the central axis. The rolled copper foil is used as an outer conductor and covers the yarn without a gap. The prototype of the fabricated tension sensor has good flexibility, since the sensor is in the form of a filament and consists of a highly flexible material. For the 1 mm tension sensor, it was found that for a tension of 1 N, a charge of 14 pC was output. It was also found that the sensor maintained its room-temperature sensitivity up to 60 °C. Compared with an existing coaxial line sensor using poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), the sensor using PLLA does not exhibit pyroelectricity, meaning that no undesirable voltage is generated when in contact with body heat, which is a significant advantage as wearable sensors. The result has demonstrated the potential application of the PLLA film to wearable devices for detecting heartbeat and respiration.