Premium
Bioinspired Interlocked and Hierarchical Design of ZnO Nanowire Arrays for Static and Dynamic Pressure‐Sensitive Electronic Skins
Author(s) -
Ha Minjeong,
Lim Seongdong,
Park Jonghwa,
Um DooSeung,
Lee Youngoh,
Ko Hyunhyub
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201500453
Subject(s) - piezoresistive effect , materials science , electronic skin , tactile sensor , nanowire , pressure sensor , bending , dynamic pressure , nanotechnology , sensitivity (control systems) , flexible electronics , piezoelectricity , acoustics , optoelectronics , computer science , electronic engineering , robot , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , composite material , engineering , aerospace engineering , physics
The development of electronic skin (e‐skin) is of great importance in human‐like robotics, healthcare, wearable electronics, and medical applications. In this paper, a bioinspired e‐skin design of hierarchical micro‐ and nano‐structured ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays in an interlocked geometry is suggested for the sensitive detection of both static and dynamic tactile stimuli through piezoresistive and piezoelectric transduction modes, respectively. The interlocked hierarchical structures enable a stress‐sensitive variation in the contact area between the interlocked ZnO NWs and also the efficient bending of ZnO NWs, which allow the sensitive detection of both static and dynamic tactile stimuli. The flexible e‐skin in a piezoresistive mode shows a high pressure sensitivity (−6.8 kPa −1 ) and an ultrafast response time (<5 ms), which enables the detection of minute static pressure (0.6 Pa), vibration level (0.1 m s −2 ), and sound pressure (≈57 dB). The flexible e‐skin in a piezoelectric mode is also demonstrated to be able to detect fast dynamic stimuli such as high frequency vibrations (≈250 Hz). The flexible e‐skins with both piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensing capabilities may find applications requiring both static and dynamic tactile perceptions such as robotic hands for dexterous manipulations and various healthcare monitoring devices.