Electrohydrodynamic and Aerosol Jet Printing for the Copatterning of Polydimethylsiloxane and Graphene Platelet Inks

The performance of soft sensing and actuation devices is dependent on their design, the electro-mechanical response of materials, and the ability to copattern structural and functional features. For film based soft structures, such as wearable sensors and artificial muscles, manufacturing challenges exist that prevent the translation of technology from laboratory to practical application. In this work, a hybrid manufacturing technique is presented that integrates electro-hydrodynamic and aerosol jet deposition to print multilayer, multimaterial structures. The combined approach overcomes the respective rheological constraints of the individual processes, while presenting a pathway to higher resolution computer-controlled patterning. Electro-hydrodynamic deposition of a polydimethylsiloxane elastomer is demonstrated and characterized, before being combined with aerosol jet deposition of a graphene platelet ink to produce functional devices. A proof-of-concept, multilayer capacitive sensor is presented as a first demonstration of the manufacturing technology.