Flexible surface acoustic wave broadband strain sensors based on ultra-thin flexible glass substrate

Flexible SAW devices based on ZnO piezoelectric thin film deposited on ultra-thin flexible glass were fabricated and their performances as a strain sensor have been investigated. The XRD and AFM characterizations showed that the ZnO layers have good crystal quality and smooth surface. The flexible SAW devices show excellent strain sensitivity which increases from ∼87 to ∼137 Hz/με with the increasing ZnO thickness, and the sensors can withstand strains up to ∼3000 με, 4∼6 times larger than those of SAW strain sensors on rigid substrates. The sensors exhibited remarkable stability up to hundreds of times bending under large strains. The effects of environmental variables (temperature, humidity, UV light) on the sensor performance have been investigated. The temperature has a significant effect on the performance of the SAW strain sensor, while humidity and light have limited effect.