Hybrid Electronic Skin Combining Triboelectric Nanogenerator and Humidity Sensor for Contact and Non-Contact Sensing

Abstract

Developing an electronic skin (e-skin) that can simultaneously enable contact sensing and non-contact sensing is of great significance to help wearable electronics achieve the intelligent perception of tactile and non-tactile information. Here, a hybrid e-skin (CNES) that realizes both contact and non-contact sensing is reported, which consists of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a humidity sensor that share a flexible substrate layer. The shared flexible substrate is formed by a hydrothermal method and presents a porous and nanoflake-like morphology surface. By introducing an Ag nanowires (NWs) electrification layer on the upper surface of the shared substrate, CNES exhibits advantages in contact sensing and electrical output performance. Therefore, we achieve the monitoring for falling behaviors with such a CNES serving as a contact sensor and the management of humidity management system with the matrixes of CNESs simulating the self-powered switches. In addition, the SnO 2 humidity sensing layer that is introduced on the lower surface of the shared substrate facilitates the CNES to achieve the non-contact monitoring of human respiration signals, offering a reliable pathway to design electronic skin for both contact and non-contact sensing.

Keywords: contact sensing, non-contact sensing, TENG, humidity sensing, flexible electronic skin