Dielectrophoretic alignment of polymer compounds for thermal sensing

In this work polymer compounds with an electrically conducting filler material, being aligned in an inhomogeneous electric field using dielectrophoresis, were investigated. Chemically synthesized semi-conducting tellurium nanorods were used as filler material. Resulting resistances of the aligned polymer compounds can be accurately tailored between 500 kΩ and 10 TΩ. The corresponding temperature behavior of the resistance was examined and showed strong dependence on the degree of alignment and on the matrix polymer used. The adjustable temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) has values of (−0.7…−4.1)%/K. Additionally, structuring techniques based on lithography and stamping processes are exemplary described and demonstrated for resistive thermal sensor elements.