Magnetic polymer nanocomposites for sensing applications

We report the fabrication and characterization of magnetic polymer nanocomposites for a wide range of sensing applications. The composites are made of magnetic nanowires (NWs) incorporated into polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or UV sensitive SU-8. The developed composites utilize the permanent magnetic behavior of the NWs, allowing remote operation without an additional magnetic field to magnetize the NWs, which simplifies miniaturization and integration in microsystems. In addition, the nanocomposite benefits from the easy patterning of the polymer leading to a corrosion resistant, highly elastic, and permanent magnetic material that can be used to develop highly sensitive systems. Nanocomposite pillars are realized and integrated on magnetic sensor elements to achieve highly sensitive and power efficient flow and tactile sensors. The developed flow sensor can detect air and water flow at a power consumption as little as 80 nW and a resolution up to 15 μm/s with easily modifiable performance. A tactile sensor element prototype is realized using the same concept, where a pressure range of 0-169 kPa is detected with a resolution of up to 1.3 kPa.