A rapid fabrication approach for the capacitive accelerometer based on 3D printing and a silver particle-free ink.

Silicon-based MEMS (Micro Electromechanical System) transducers have been broadly used to monitor human activities. However, the traditional manufacturing processes are expensive and a production cycle usually takes several months, which cannot meet the demands of personalized customization. This paper presents a rapid fabrication approach for the capacitive accelerometer. The structural components of the accelerometer were fabricated by 3D printing using a PLA (Polylactic acid) filament and the electrodes were deposited by drop-coating of a silver particle-free ink. The silver particle-free ink with a low sintering temperature of 150 °C was synthesized by the complexation of ethanolamine and silver acetate in alcohols. It is shown that it is suitable for metallization of 3D printed polymer structures. As an application of the silver particle-free ink and the fabrication method, a capacitive accelerometer was successfully produced. The measurement results show that the 3D printed accelerometer device has a sensitivity of 46.8 mV/g and a nonlinearity error of 4.06%. The dynamic performances indicate the 3D printed accelerometer device can be used for monitoring human movements in real-time thereby having potential for wearable applications. The work demonstrates a rapid and low-cost method for fabrication of MEMS devices by combining 3D printing and a silver particle-free ink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]