Improving the performance of biomimetic hair-flow sensors by electrostatic spring softening

We report improvements in the detection limit and responsivity of biomimetic hair-flow sensors by electrostatic spring softening. Applying a dc-bias voltage to our capacitive flow sensors results in a reduced sensory threshold, improving the mechanical transfer and flow detection limit by more than 6 dB. We further show that the sensor's responsivity for airflows is also improved on application of high-frequency ac-bias voltages to the sensor's capacitive structures with little sensitivity to the bias frequency.