Improvement of durability of micro tactile sensor by protection of bonding-wire with UV curable resin

抄録

In recent years, demands for tactile sensors for robots have been increasing in the industrial and medical fields. Therefore, in our previous work, we have developed a micro tactile sensor with micro-cantilevers as a detection part of contact force. Micro-cantilevers are fabricated based on technologies of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In this research, in order to improve the durability of the micro tactile sensor, the wiring connection was protected by using UV curable resin with much-higher hardness than the conventional silicone elastomer. The response of the sensor with UV curable resin to normal force and durability of wiring connection were compared with the previous sensor without the resin. In the measurement for characterization of force response, there was almost no difference in the sensitivities between the sensor with and without UV curable resin, and it was found that the protective resin for the wiring connection has almost no effect on the sensor output. In the durability test of wiring connection, the previous sensor without the resin protection showed a significant decrease in resistance due to short-circuits when an excessive load was applied. On the other hand, the sensor with the resin protection did not show a significant decrease in resistance. Therefore, it was found that the sensor protected the wiring connection with UV curable resin has higher durability than without the resin.