*** 9760097 Biter This small Business Innovation Research Phase I will fabricate a new sensor consisting of a composite magnetoelectric material fabricated as a wire. This research builds on previous work on a composite laminar magnetoelectric material that uses a novel method of measuring applied stress. Existing sensors all have limitations for measuring applied forces over an extended area. Most only respond to pressure and are not sensitive to side forces (slip, friction). Others am expensive or incompatible with matrix addressing, making a large array of sensors difficult and expensive. The objectives of this Phase I research project are to design and fabricate an advanced composite material in the form of a small diameter (.020") wire coated with a magnetoclectric layer. A sensor element is defined by the intersection with a second wire. The low cost and small size will allow fabrication of a large dense array of sensing elements. Amajoradvantageoftbissensoristhatitmeasuresappliedstressgivingitthe ability to measure shear or slip forces and can be configured to closely match the response of the human hand. There is a significant commercial application for the composite wire as a sensor but the magnetoelectric element itself appears to have a much larger potential market. It can be adapted to any pressure sensing application that benefits by arrays. This includes 2-D sonar imaging, ultrasonic imagers for medical and non-destructive testing and even a flat panel display. ***
