Investigation of Position Sensing and Energy Harvesting of a Flexible Triboelectric Touch Pad

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is a promising technology because it can harvest energy from the environment to enable self-sustainable mobile and wearable electronic devices. In this work, we present a flexible touch pad capable of detecting the contact location of an object and generating substantial energy simultaneously based on the coupling of triboelectric effects and electrostatic induction. The touch pad consists of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin film, multiple Aluminum (Al) electrodes and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layers, which can be achieved through low cost, simplified and scalable fabrication process. Different from the conventional multi-pixel-based positioning sensor (i.e., large array of sensing elements and electrodes), the analogue method proposed here is used to implement the positioning function with only four electrodes. Position location can achieve a detecting resolution of as small as 1.3 mm (the size of locating layer is 7.5 cm × 7.5 cm). For the energy harvesting part, a multilayer structure is designed to provide higher current output. The open circuit voltage of the device is around 420 V and the short circuit current can reach up to 6.26 µA with current density of 0.25 µA/cm2. The maximum output power obtained is approximately 10 mW, which is 0.4 mW/cm2. The flexibility and significantly reduced number of electrodes enable the proposed touch pad to be readily integrated into portable electronic devices, such as intelligent robots, laptops, healthcare devices, and environmental surveys, etc.

Progress inTENGtechnology—A journey from energy harvesting to nanoenergy and nanosystem

“…of things (IoT) and the fifth-generation wireless networks (5G), various self-powered electronics are considered as the building blocks for the foundation of the coming industrial revolution toward a smart world. [22][23][24][25] This wide distribution of self-powered electronics cover spheres of application ranging from industrial electronics to personal electronics, wearable electronics to implantable electronics, and macrosystem to a sustainable system in every corner of our life. With the development trends of the electronic devices in miniaturization, lightweight, and portability, a sustainable power supplying solution is needed to meet the requirement of the upcoming intelligent world, where the traditional batteries are facing a challenge due to their limited lifetime, environmental impact, and periodical replacement.…”

“…In dealing with the global energy shortage and current environmental pollution, searching for sustainable power sources with reduced carbon emissions and renewable energy technologies are urgent for green economics and healthy development of human civilization 11‐21 . Moreover, as the world is marching into the era of the internet of things (IoT) and the fifth‐generation wireless networks (5G), various self‐powered electronics are considered as the building blocks for the foundation of the coming industrial revolution toward a smart world 22‐25 . This wide distribution of self‐powered electronics cover spheres of application ranging from industrial electronics to personal electronics, wearable electronics to implantable electronics, and macrosystem to a sustainable system in every corner of our life.…”

Development Trends and Perspectives of Future Sensors and MEMS/NEMS

“…The 3D information of the mobile stage can then be used for the control of a nano-manipulator in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Moving forward, flexible wearable interfaces will be of increasing importance to enable intuitive interactions between humans and machines [174][175][176]. Figure 11c shows an intuitive glove interface, with four textile-based sensors to achieve full interacting functionality [174].…”

A Review and Perspective for the Development of Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG)-Based Self-Powered Neuroprosthetics

“…Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and piezoelectric nanogenerators harvest energy from the motion of organs; optical devices, ultrasound devices, and electromagnetic coils receive energy wirelessly by a transcutaneous approach; and biofuel cells extract energy from the redox reaction of glucose and electrolytes in the gastrointestinal tract [ 12 ]. Among all these methods, a TENG is the onlymethod to achieve direct nerve stimulations [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], showing its capability in the realization of a self-powered neuroprosthetic system in the future, which is far beyond the application of energy harvesting and self-powered physical and chemical sensing [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ].…”