Piezoresistive granular metal thin films of platinum–boron nitride and platinum–alumina at higher strain levels

Granular metal thin films have a strain sensitivity much larger than continuous metal films. Experiments at high strain can help reveal their piezoresistive mechanisms. We deposit films of platinum nanoparticles in boron nitride (Pt:BN) as well as platinum particles in aluminum oxide (Pt:Al 2O 3) on polyimide foil as strain gauges. Under low strain of 0.1%, the films exhibit enhanced gauge factors, k = 23 for Pt:BN and k = 6 for Pt:Al 2O 3. Toward higher strain of 1.5%, Pt:BN shows reproducible and linear resistance-strain curves. In contrast, Pt:Al 2O 3 exhibits anomalies: The resistance-strain curves are highly nonlinear with an increasing slope before reaching saturation. The differential gauge factor versus strain increases from 9 to 9500, and the return curve shows large hysteresis. With scanning electron microscopy unstrained and in situ strained films are compared, Pt:BN shows no changes, whereas in Pt:Al 2O 3, large cracks develop. The relatively soft BN is less prone to cracks than the hard and brittle Al 2O 3. Hence, the gauge factor in Pt:BN can still be attributed to an electron tunneling mechanism, whereas Pt:Al 2O 3 becomes dominated by the influence of cracks. A model is presented, and we argue that the reproducible opening and closing of these cracks leads to the gigantic resistance increases at high strain.