Design and fabrication of a 3D printed compact LC sensor

Robotics, wearable technology, and prosthetics are all advancing thanks to the development of wireless sensing technologies. The ability of wireless passive radio frequency (RF) devices, such as LC (inductor-capacitor) resonators, to operate in a variety of sensing areas such as pressure, temperature, and location identification without the need for power supplies has made them stand out among other types of sensing devices. However, passive LC sensors suffer from short-range wireless detection, and their fabrication process requires several stages. Here, we propose a new design of compact LC-based wireless location identification sensors fabricated by the direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing method. Furthermore, a wireless sensing system has been proposed which consists of LC sensors and RF communication that increases the wireless reading distance to about ten centimeters. Finally, a dielectric material with high dielectric permittivity has been employed to amplify the quality factor of the wireless sensors.