Transparent, Optical, Pressure-Sensitive Artificial Skin for Large-Area Stretchable Electronics

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 3223-3227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Ramuz ◽  
Benjamin C-K. Tee ◽  
Jeffrey B.-H. Tok ◽  
Zhenan Bao
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. e1501624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Yi ◽  
Xiaofeng Wang ◽  
Simiao Niu ◽  
Shengming Li ◽  
Yajiang Yin ◽  
...  

The rapid growth of deformable and stretchable electronics calls for a deformable and stretchable power source. We report a scalable approach for energy harvesters and self-powered sensors that can be highly deformable and stretchable. With conductive liquid contained in a polymer cover, a shape-adaptive triboelectric nanogenerator (saTENG) unit can effectively harvest energy in various working modes. The saTENG can maintain its performance under a strain of as large as 300%. The saTENG is so flexible that it can be conformed to any three-dimensional and curvilinear surface. We demonstrate applications of the saTENG as a wearable power source and self-powered sensor to monitor biomechanical motion. A bracelet-like saTENG worn on the wrist can light up more than 80 light-emitting diodes. Owing to the highly scalable manufacturing process, the saTENG can be easily applied for large-area energy harvesting. In addition, the saTENG can be extended to extract energy from mechanical motion using flowing water as the electrode. This approach provides a new prospect for deformable and stretchable power sources, as well as self-powered sensors, and has potential applications in various areas such as robotics, biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology, and entertainment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhijit Chandra Roy ◽  
Navin Kumar ◽  
Shreyas B S ◽  
Ananya Gupta ◽  
Aloke Kumar ◽  
...  

Abstract Soft artificial skin capable of sensing touch, pressure and bending similar to soft human skin is important in many modern-day applications including socially interactive robotics, modern healthcare, augmented reality, etc. However, most of the research effort on soft artificial skin are confined to the lab-scale demonstration. We have demonstrated how a fundamental understanding of the contact mechanics of soft material and a specially constructed soft optical waveguide let us develop a highly efficient, resilient, and large-area soft artificial skin for futuristic applications. The soft artificial skin capable of detect touch, load and bending shows extreme sensitivity (up to \({150 \text{k}\text{P}\text{a}}^{-1}\)) to touch, and load, which is 750 times higher than earlier work. The soft-a-skin shows excellent long-term stability i.e. it shows consistent performance up to almost a year. In addition, we describe a 3D printing process capable of producing large areas, large numbers yet cost-effective soft artificial skin. We have shown the functioning of the soft-a-skin in various means.


Author(s):  
Benno Schmied ◽  
Jürgen Günther ◽  
Christopher Klatt ◽  
Horst Kober ◽  
Eugène Raemaekers

Author(s):  
Igor Minin ◽  
Oleg Minin ◽  
Yuri Geints

We propose the physical proof-of-concept of a new simple miniature pressure sensor based on the whispering gallery modes (WGMs) optically excited in a dielectric microsphere placed near a flexible reflective membrane, which acts as an ambient pressure sensing element. WGMs excitation is carried out by free-space coupling of optical radiation to a microsphere. The distinctive feature of proposed sensor design is double excitation of optical eigenmodes by forward and backward propagating radiation reflected from a membrane that causes WGMs interference in particle volume. The optical intensity of resulting resonant field established in the microsphere carries information about the exact position of the pressure-loaded reflecting membrane. The sensitivity of the proposed sensor strongly depends on the quality factor of the excited resonant mode, as well as geometrical and mechanical parameters of the flexible membrane. We propose to register not the displacement of the position of the WGM resonance, but the change in its amplitude under the influence of the change in the distance between the sphere and the mirror under the influence of pressure. Important advantages of the proposed sensor are miniature design (linear sensor dimensions depends only on the membrane diameter) and the absence of a mechanical contact of pressure-sensitive element with WGM resonator.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Bossuyt ◽  
Thomas Vervust ◽  
Fabrice Axisa ◽  
Jan Vanfleteren

AbstractA novel technology for stretchable electronics is presented which can be used for the realization of wearable textile electronics and biomedical implants. It consists of rigid or flexible component islands interconnected with stretchable meander-shaped copper conductors embedded in a stretchable polymer, e.g. PDMS. The technology uses standard PCB manufacturing steps and liquid injection molding techniques to achieve a robust and reliable product. Due to the stretchable feature of the device, conductors and component islands should be able to withstand a certain degree of stress to guarantee the functionality of the system. Although the copper conductors are meander-shaped in order to minimize the local plastic strain, the lifetime of the system is still limited by the occurrence of crack propagation through the copper, compromising the connectivity between the functional islands. In order to improve the lifetime of the conductors, the most important feature of the presented technology is the use of spin-on polyimide as a mechanical support for the stretchable interconnections and the functional flexible islands. In this way, every stretchable copper connection is supported by a 20μm layer of polyimide being shaped in the same manner as the above laying conductor. The grouped SMD components and straight copper tracks on the functional islands are also supported by a complete 20 μm polyimide layer. By use of the polyimide, the reliability of the stretchable interconnections, the straight interconnections on the flexible islands and the transitions between the stretchable and non-stretchable parts is improved. This approach results in a significant increase of the lifetime of the stretchable interconnections as it is doubled. In this contribution, the different process steps and materials of the technology will be highlighted. Initial reliability results will be discussed and the realization of some functional demonstrators containing a whole range of different components will further illustrate the feasibility of this technology. The advantages and disadvantages in terms of processability, cost and mechanical strength of the photo-definable polyimide will be covered.


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