Interface Electronics for PVDF Based Tactile Sensor

This paper presents the design, simulation, and experimental validation of a simple interface electronics (IE) for a tactile sensor based on the piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The proposed IE converts low-level charge signals generated by PVDF under mechanical stress into a voltage signal using a fully differential transimpedance amplifier (TIA) architecture. The design emphasizes low noise, high sensitivity, and a flat frequency response across the tactile bandwidth. The TIA circuit, implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components (COTS), achieves a gain of 126 dB Ω and a cutoff frequency of 10 kHz. Simulations using LTspice confirm the design's noise rejection and signal integrity, while experimental tests validate the circuit's performance in characterizing the dynamic response of a PVDF-based tactile sensor. The results demonstrate effective signal conditioning, with a frequency-domain transfer function consistent with the differential nature of piezoelectric materials. The simplicity and scalability of the proposed design make it well-suited for future integration into large-area e-skin systems.