Patent ID: 6771083
Filing Date: 2004-08-03
Classification: G01D,G01L

Abstract:
A Poole-Frenkel piezoconductive strain sensor, comprising:a) a Poole-Frenkel piezoconductive sensor element, said element being effectively coupled to an applied strain, said element comprising a sensor element current path, said path comprising a Poole-Frenkel material and having a path electrical conductance; b) an electric field source functionally connected to said sensor element current path in the Poole-Frenkel material, such that the magnitude and orientation of said known electric field are chosen so that the path electrical conductance is dominated by Poole-Frenkel transport in the Poole-Frenkel material; c) conductance measuring means functionally connected to provide a measured value of said path electrical conductance; and d) data means to determine and report the value of the applied strain in useful form.