New technologies to integrate electronics and sensors on or into objects can support the growth of embedded electronics. The method proposed in this paper has the huge advantage of being substrate-free and applicable to a wide range of target materials such as fiber-based composites, widely used in manufacturing, and for which monitoring applications such as fatigue, cracks, and deformation detection are crucial. Here, sensors are first fabricated on a donor substrate using standard microelectronic processes and then transferred to the host material by direct transfer printing. Results show the viability of composites instrumented by strain gauges. Indeed, dynamic and static measurements highlight that the deformations can be detected with high sensitivity both on the surface and at various points in the depth of the composite material. Thanks to this technology, for the first time, a substrate-free piezoresistive n-doped silicon strain sensor is transferred into a composite material and characterized as a function of strain applied on it. It is shown that the transfer process does not alter the electrical behavior of the sensors that are five times more sensitive than extensively used metallic ones. An application designed for monitoring the deformation of a rudder foil with a classic NACA profile in real time is presented.
Keywords: 3D electronics; smart composites; smart textiles; strain gauges; structural health monitoring; transfer printing.