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Item type:Publication, Integration of CCTAO/PDMS composite films into proximity capacitive sensor devices(2026-12-01) ;Bongkarn, Theerachai ;Panpho, Phakakorn ;Charoonsuk, Thitirat; Pakawanit, PhakkhanananFlexible capacitive proximity sensors are promising for contactless sensing applications, but their performance is strongly influenced by the dielectric properties and microstructure of the sensing layer. In this work, CaCu<inf>3</inf>Ti<inf>4-x</inf>A<inf>x</inf>O<inf>12</inf>/polydimethylsiloxane (CCTAO/PDMS, A = Nd<sup>3+</sup> or Gd<sup>3+</sup>) composite films were developed as flexible dielectric layers for interdigitated capacitive proximity sensors. Nd- and Gd-doped CCTO ceramics were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method and incorporated into a PDMS matrix at different filler loadings. Structural analysis confirmed that the CCTAO ceramics retained the cubic CCTO phase after rare-earth substitution, while the composite films preserved the characteristic amorphous structure of PDMS with embedded ceramic fillers. The FESEM, EDS mapping and X-ray tomographic microscopy analyses showed that the CCTNdO/PDMS composite had a more uniform distribution of ceramic particles than the CCTO/PDMS system. The dielectric measurements demonstrated the improvement in the dielectric constant of the PDMS-based composites upon CCTNdO incorporation and also indicated that the composites did not exhibit any significant changes in their dielectric properties across the range of frequencies examined. The CCTNdO/PDMS films were found to show the negative capacitance response as a function of distance due to the electric-field shunting mechanism when used in an interdigitated capacitor sensor. The sensor with composition 10 wt% CCTNdO/PDMS had excellent performance with a maximum normalized capacitance change equal to −8.70%, which corresponds to a proximity sensitivity of around 0.42%/mm and an effective sensing range of around 20 mm. It is concluded that the optimization of the loading of the rare-earth material in a flexible PDMS matrix is an effective approach to achieve a compromise between the dielectric enhancement of the sensor and the dispersion of the filler and fringing-field interaction in the contactless capacitive proximity sensor.
