Imperceptible energy harvesting device and biomedical sensor based on ultraflexible ferroelectric transducers and organic diodes
Nature Communications volume 12, Article number: 2399 (2021 ) Cite this article
Energy autonomy and conformability are essential elements in the next generation of wearable and flexible electronics for healthcare, robotics and cyber-physical systems. This study presents ferroelectric polymer transducers and organic diodes for imperceptible sensing and energy harvesting systems, which are integrated on ultrathin (1-µm) substrates, thus imparting them with excellent flexibility. Simulations show that the sensitivity of ultraflexible ferroelectric polymer transducers is strongly enhanced by using an ultrathin substrate, which allows the mounting on 3D-shaped objects and the stacking in multiple layers. Indeed, ultraflexible ferroelectric polymer transducers have improved sensitivity to strain and pressure, fast response and excellent mechanical stability, thus forming imperceptible wireless e-health patches for precise pulse and blood pressure monitoring. For harvesting biomechanical energy, the transducers are combined with rectifiers based on ultraflexible organic diodes thus comprising an imperceptible, 2.5-µm thin, energy harvesting device with an excellent peak power density of 3 mW·cm−3.
Many disruptive digital technologies like the Internet of Everything, cyber-physical systems, robotics or e-health are based on components that are inexpensive and facile to produce1,2,3, made of sustainable and/or biocompatible materials1, and are energy-saving, or even self-powered1,4. But only if constructed in a mechanically flexible1,5, stretchable5,6,7,8,9,10,11 or very thin7,12 way, they allow for unobtrusive and seamless integration on machines, objects or the human body, often in the form of an electronic skin4.
