THIN-FILM TRANSISTOR BASED PIEZOELECTRIC STRAIN SENSOR AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A strain sensor, comprising:
- a flexible substrate;
a thin-film transistor structure comprising at least one piezoelectric material layer and a semiconductor layer deposited on said flexible substrate, wherein said at least one piezoelectric material layer generates an electric charge resulting in a modulation of a transistor current; and
a metal gate layer located on said flexible substrate with respect to a source region and a drain region, wherein said at least one piezoelectric material layer of said thin-film transistor structure provides for an increased sensitivity and enhanced device control with respect to said strain sensor.
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Abstract
A piezoelectric strain sensor and method thereof for detecting strain, vibration, and/or pressure. The sensor incorporates a sequence of piezoelectric and semiconductor layers in a thin-film transistor structure. The thin-film transistor structure can be configured on a flexible substrate via a low-cost fabrication technique. The piezoelectric layer generates an electric charge resulting in a modulation of a transistor current, which is a measure of external strain. The sensor can be formed as a single gate field-effect piezoelectric sensor and a dual gate field-effect piezoelectric sensor. The semiconductor layer can be configured from a nanowire array resulting in a metal-piezoelectric-nanowire field effect transistor. The single and dual gate field-effect piezoelectric sensor offer increased sensitivity and device control due to the presence of the piezoelectric layer in the transistor structure and low cost manufacturability on large area flexible substrates.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A strain sensor, comprising:
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a flexible substrate; a thin-film transistor structure comprising at least one piezoelectric material layer and a semiconductor layer deposited on said flexible substrate, wherein said at least one piezoelectric material layer generates an electric charge resulting in a modulation of a transistor current; and a metal gate layer located on said flexible substrate with respect to a source region and a drain region, wherein said at least one piezoelectric material layer of said thin-film transistor structure provides for an increased sensitivity and enhanced device control with respect to said strain sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A strain sensor, comprising:
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a rigid substrate; a nanowire/nanotube transistor structure comprising at least one piezoelectric material layer and a semiconductor nanowire/nanotube array deposited on said substrate, wherein said piezoelectric layer generates an electric charge resulting in a modulation of a transistor current; and a metal gate layer located between a source region and a drain region, wherein said piezoelectric layer in said nanowire/nanotube transistor structure provides for an increased sensitivity and enhanced device control with respect to said strain sensor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A method of configuring a strain sensor, said method comprising:
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configuring a flexible substrate; forming a thin-film transistor structure comprising at least one piezoelectric material layer and a semiconductor layer, said thin-film transistor structure deposited on said flexible substrate, wherein said piezoelectric layer generates an electric charge resulting in a modulation of a transistor current; and locating a metal gate layer on said flexible substrate with respect to a source region and a drain region, wherein said at least one piezoelectric material layer of said thin-film transistor structure provides for an increased sensitivity and enhanced device control with respect to said strain sensor. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification