Sensing Sheets Based on Large-Area Electronics and Integrated Circuits

Accurate and reliable early-stage identification of damage requires pervasive deployment of sensors in the critical areas of structures. Deployment of dense arrays of sensors enhances the probability that damage will directly affect the sensors and result in discernable output signals. However, the deployment of currently available sensors in the form of dense arrays over large areas represents a major challenge in terms of costs, complexity of installation, and data management. Consequently, new technological breakthroughs are needed. Large-area electronics (LAE) is an emerging technology that, combined with integrated circuits (ICs), has potential to enable the formation of practical and scalable dense sensor arrays in the form factor of a thin sensing sheet. The sensing sheet consists of a dense array of strain sensors patterned on a flexible substrate, as well as the electronics for strain readout, full-system self-powering, and communication. This chapter introduces LAE and IC technologies and presents several stages in the development of such sensing sheets.