The sensor can be applied to monitor body temperature by attaching the sensor in clothes. Picture: Pixabay.The field of paper-based electronics has boosted in recent years due to a growing demand for low-cost and environmentally friendly components. Paper electronics enables the development of devices by placing thin layers of electronic materials, such as semiconductors, on paper. Thus, inexpensive electronic devices such as sensors, diagnostic kits or batteries that hardly generate waste are obtained.
A team from the CSIC has developed a thermo-resistive sensor for the control of temperature whose main components are a semiconductor material deposited on standard printer paper.
High sensitivity and a quick response
The sensor responds almost immediately to sudden changes in temperature (in approximately 0.2 seconds) and its recovery time is around 1 second.
The sensor has a high sensitivity to sudden changes in temperature, higher than other similar sensors based on graphite, carbon nanotube wires, or on metals such as platinum, copper or nickel. The sensor is cheap, easy to produce, and biodegradable.
So far, the scientists have been successfully applied the sensor as respiration monitoring devices but it can be applied also to monitor body temperature by attaching the sensor in clothes. Likewise, this sensor can be integrated into packages to monitor the preservation conditions during the transport of goods sensitive to temperature changes, such as perishable food or frozen products.
Now, companies in the electronics sector, manufacturers of sensors or components are sought, as well as companies in the textile or paper manufacturing sector, interested in the license of the patent for its commercial exploitation.
Contact:
Patricia Thomas Vielma
Vicepresidencia Adjunta de Transferencia (CSIC)
Tel.: +34 91 568 18 25