Tactile sensor array on flexible substrate with piezoelectric tft tactile sensor

Abstract

A flexible thin film transistor tactile sensor includes a piezoelectric semiconductor thin film channel of material whose conductivity can be electrostatically controlled connected with source and drain metals and sandwiched between bottom and top thin film insulators and at least one of a bottom and top gate metal, the sensor being supported on a flexible substrate. The piezoelectric property of the used material transduces pressure to electronic charge. The semiconductor property of the used material permits electrostatic modulation of the conductivity in TFT device architecture such that the device can be switched on and off. Transistor action provides gain for input signals, i.e., a modulation of the gate voltage induces strong current change between the source and drain, which can be leveraged to amplify the response to input pressure. The transistor forms the basis for sensor arrays, which are readily scalable to large size.