Flexible thin film thermocouples: From structure, material, fabrication to application

Zhongkai Zhang; Zhaojun Liu; Jiaming Lei; Luntao Chen; Le Li; Na Zhao; Xudong Fang; Yong Ruan; Bian Tian; Libo Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107303

Flexible thin film thermocouples: From structure, material, fabrication to application

iScience. 2023 Jul 10;26(8):107303. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107303. eCollection 2023 Aug 18.

Authors

Zhongkai Zhang¹, Zhaojun Liu^{1

2}, Jiaming Lei¹, Luntao Chen¹, Le Li¹, Na Zhao¹, Xudong Fang^{1

3}, Yong Ruan⁴, Bian Tian^{1

3

5}, Libo Zhao^{1

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
² Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
³ State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technologies, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an Jiaotong University (Yantai) Research Institute for Intelligent Sensing Technology and System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
⁵ Shandong Laboratory of Yantai Advanced Materials and Green Manufacturing, Yantai 265503, China.

Abstract

Flexible thin-film thermocouples (TFTCs) have been garnering interest as temperature sensors due to the advantages of being flexible, ultrathin, and ultralight. Additionally, they have fast response times and enable detection of temperature. These properties have made them suitable for applications such as wearable electronics, healthcare, portable personal devices, and smart detection systems. This review presents the progress in the development of flexible TFTCs. The mechanism, structural design, materials, fabrication methods, and related applications of flexible TFTCs are also elaborated. Finally, future development directions of flexible TFTCs are discussed such as wide-range temperature measurement, multiple sensor integration, and achieving reliable cold-end compensation systems.

Keywords: Thermal design; Thermal engineering; Thermal property.

Publication types

Review