Novel dual-modal flexible liquid crystal sensor: capable of synchronously detecting temperature and curvature

In sensor technology, many existing sensors face limitations in achieving synchronous detection of multiple parameters, and liquid crystal (LC) sensors are no exception. To address this, we propose a novel dual-modal flexible LC sensor consisting of two orthogonally oriented flexible LC cells filled with LC with a negative dielectric anisotropy. Because the capacitances of the two LC cells exhibit different sensitivities to temperature and curvature and maintain a linear relationship, simultaneous detection of these two parameters can be realised by applying a dual-parameter coefficient sensitivity matrix to the measured capacitance changes. Considering the uneven thickness of the flexible LC cells during bending, the error ranges were determined to be ± 0.012 cm−1 for curvature and ±0.060°C for temperature. Moreover, the sensor demonstrates excellent stability, recoverability, and durability, highlighting its potential in applications such as electronic skin, robotics, and biomedicine.