Development and Optimization of Silicon-Dioxide-Coated Capacitive Electrode for Ambulatory ECG Measurement System

This paper presents a silicon-dioxide-coated capacitive electrode system for an ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG). The electrode was coated with a nano-leveled (287 nm) silicon dioxide layer which has a very high resistance of over 200 MΩ. Due to this high resistance, the electrode can be defined as only a capacitor without a resistive characteristic. This distinct capacitive characteristic of the electrode brings a simplified circuit analysis to achieve the development of a high-quality ambulatory ECG system. The 240 um thickness electrode was composed of a stainless-steel sheet layer for sensing, a polyimide electrical insulation layer, and a copper sheet connected with the ground to block any electrical noises generated from the back side of the structure. Six different diameter electrodes were prepared to optimize ECG signals in ambulatory environment, such as the amplitude of the QRS complex, amplitude of electromagnetic interference (EMI), and baseline wandering of the ECG signals. By combining the experimental results, optimal ambulatory ECG signals were obtained with electrodes that have a diameter from 1 to 3 cm. Moreover, we achieved high-quality ECG signals in a sweating simulation environment with 2 cm electrodes.