Flexible strain sensors based on electrostatically actuated graphene flakes

In this paper we present flexible strain sensors made of graphene flakes fabricated, characterized, and analyzed for the electrical actuation and readout of their mechanical vibratory response in strain-sensing applications. For a typical suspended graphene membrane fabricated with an approximate length of 10 μm, a mechanical resonance frequency around 136 MHz with a quality factor (Q) of ∼60 in air under ambient conditions was observed. The applied strain can shift the resonance frequency substantially, which is found to be related to the alteration of physical dimension and the built-in strain in the graphene flake. Strain sensing was performed using both planar and nonplanar surfaces (bending with different radii of curvature) as well as by stretching with different elongations. © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd.