Post by skyship on Jan 3, 2016 2:33:40 GMT -5
Nanoscale Pressure Sensors Mimic Human Skin
New research shows how arrays of tiny electronic devices can achieve human-skin-like sensitivity to mechanical force.
Arrays of transistors made of nanowires could form the basis of a new class of devices nearly as sensitive to mechanical force as human skin is, according to research published today in Science.
The inventor of the technology, Zhong Lin Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering at Georgia Tech, says it has immediate applications in human-machine interfaces. For example, it could be used to capture electronic signatures by recording the distinctive force an individual applies while signing. Down the road, says Wang, his group’s pressure sensor arrays could equip robotics and prosthetics with a human-like sense of touch.
In the new research, Wang’s group demonstrates nanoelectronics that offer at least a 15-fold enhancement in sensor density and spatial resolution compared to the previous approaches. Further, the electronic properties of the nanowires allowed the researchers to demonstrate through high-resolution imaging an improvement in sensitivity of two to three orders of magnitude. The density, resolution, and sensitivity of the sensors, says Wang, is comparable to that of the skin of a human finger.
Made from nanoscale crystals of the semiconducting material zinc oxide, the nanowires are piezoelectric, meaning they generate an electrical charge in response to applied mechanical force. Wang and his colleagues have taken advantage of this effect, using the wires to build a new type of transistor that works without added voltage (see 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2009: Nanopiezoelectronics).
Made from nanoscale crystals of the semiconducting material zinc oxide, the nanowires are piezoelectric, meaning they generate an electrical charge in response to applied mechanical force. Wang and his colleagues have taken advantage of this effect, using the wires to build a new type of transistor that works without added voltage (see 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2009: Nanopiezoelectronics).
i THINK IT HAS BEEN WANG ALL ALONG, FOLKS..................
www.technologyreview.com/news/514131/nanoscale-pressure-sensors-mimic-human-skin/