Polyelectrolyte Dielectrics for Flexible Low‐Voltage Organic Thin‐Film Transistors in Highly Sensitive Pressure Sensing

• Published in: Advanced functional materials 2019-01, Vol.29 (1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Liu, Ziyang, Yin, Zhigang, Wang, Jianbin, Zheng, Qingdong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bend radius; composite materials; Dielectrics; Electric potential; Electronics; Flexible components; flexible electronics; Mapping; Materials science; organic field‐effect transistors; Polyacrylic acid; Polyelectrolytes; Polyethylene glycol; Polymer matrix composites; Pressure sensors; Semiconductor devices; Sensitivity; Sensor arrays; Sensors; Stability; Transistors; Wearable technology
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201806092

Organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) can provide an effective platform to develop flexible pressure sensors in wearable electronics due to their good signal amplification function. However, it is particularly difficult to realize OTFT‐based pressure sensors with both low‐voltage operation and high sensitivity. Here, controllable polyelectrolyte composites based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) are developed as a type of high‐capacitance dielectrics for flexible OTFTs and ultrasensitive pressure sensors with sub‐1 V operation. Flexible OTFTs using the PAA:PEG dielectrics show good universality and greatly enhanced electrical performance under a much smaller operating voltage of −0.7 V than those with a pristine PAA dielectric. The low‐voltage OTFTs also exhibit excellent flexibility and bending stability under various bending radii and long cycles. Flexible OTFT‐based pressure sensors with low‐voltage operation and superhigh sensitivity are demonstrated by using a suspended semiconductor/dielectric/gate structure in combination with the PAA:PEG dielectric. The sensors deliver a record high sensitivity of 452.7 kPa−1 under a low‐voltage of −0.7 V, and excellent operating stability over 5000 cycles. The OTFT sensors can be built into a wearable sensor array for spatial pressure mapping, which shows a bright potential in flexible electronics such as wearable devices and smart skins. Flexible organic thin‐film transistors and ultrasensitive pressure sensors with sub‐1 V operation are demonstrated by using high‐capacitance polyelectrolyte composite dielectrics. Using a suspended semiconductor/dielectric/gate structure, a record high sensitivity of 452.7 kPa−1 with a low‐operating voltage of −0.7 V is achieved for the pressure sensors, which are subsequently built into a wearable sensor array for pressure mapping.