The newly developed microfluidic tactile sensor is
fabricated on a flexible substrate like silicone rubber, and uses non-corrosive, non-toxic 2D nanomaterial suspension in liquid form, such as graphene oxide, as the pressure sensing element to recognise force - induced changes.
«The fact that these can be
deposited on flexible substrates has implications for flexible and maybe even stretchable optoelectronics that could be part of your clothing or could be rolled up or folded,» Capasso says.
«Electrically conductive polymers are used in OLEDs, for example, which can also be
manufactured on flexible substrates,» explains Tobias Kraus, Head of the research group Structure Formation at INM.
However, advances in polymer technology have promoted the development of flexible electronics and enabled the production of high frequency
units on flexible substrates.
«You can't make the thin
film on a flexible substrate because flexible substrates can't withstand the high temperatures you need to make the thin film.»
A miniature, individual pixel of such an array contains the following: a glucose oxidase - bearing hydrogel reservoir into which glucose is extracted through skin; an electrochemical glucose sensor (made of a graphene - based film or graphene ink); and miniaturized
electrodes on a flexible substrate.
If there are some ereaders that are now
based on flexible substrates then I expect there are some still with the fragile substrates except now I am uncertain as to what readers use what types of displays.
The display is currently made on glass but could easily be
made on flexible substrates, says Andre Arsenault, coauthor of the paper and cofounder of Opalux.
For photovoltaics, Venkataraman points out, «The next thing is to make devices with other polymers coming along, to increase power conversion efficiency and to make
them on flexible substrates.
The researchers use a tissue to soak up the water and then lift the thin film with tweezers and place
it on a flexible substrate.