Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

1. INTRODUCTION

Human Skin is a large, flexible and remarkable organ that covers and protects the
body from external damages. At the same time it has some important sensory role, it is the
attachment site for touch, pain and thermo receptors. It consists of an integrated and
stretchable network of sensors that relay information about tactile and thermal stimuli to the
brain, allowing us to interact within or environment safely and effectively. To achieve such
high sophistication in its sensing capabilities, several different types of highly specialized
sense receptors are embedded within our skin. These receptors first transduce information
generated by physical contact into electrical signals and subsequently send it to the central
nervous systems for more complex processing. The collected signals are eventually
interpreted by the somatosensory cortex, permitting us to successfully navigate our physical
world with ease. This multifunctional biological model is inspiring the development of
electronic equivalents referred to as ‘bionic skin’ consisting of large-area networks of
sensors that detect pressure, temperature and other environmental stimuli, and are realized on
pliable or stretchable substrates. Interest in large-area networks of electronic devices inspired
by human skin is motivated by the promise of creating autonomous intelligent robots and bio
mimetic prosthetics, among other applications. The development of electronic networks
comprised of flexible, stretchable, and robust devices that are compatible with large-area
implementation and integrated with multiple functionalities is a testament to the progress in
developing an electronic skin (e-skin) similar to human skin.
E-skins are already capable of providing improved performance over their organic
counterpart, both in superior spatial resolution and thermal sensitivity. They could be further
improved through the incorporation of additional functionalities (e.g., chemical and
biological sensing) and desired properties (e.g., biodegradability and self-
powering).Continued rapid progress in this area is promising for the development of a fully
integrated e-skin in the near future. These devices have been proposed as advanced bio
mimetic prostheses and diagnostic tools, as well as a means to provide robots with sensory
perceptions, an ambitious technological goal that brings to mind the ‘machine-human’ in the
science-fiction movie Metropolis or the sensitive android Data in Star Trek. Engineers and

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 1

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

materials scientists are working on the functional complexity of these sensors adding data
processing and actuation capabilities and on their mechanical properties, aiming to realize
devices that conformably adapt to the skin and ensure a reduced risk of tissue reacts. Human
skin is highly intuitive, making it easy to neglect the complexity of the largest sensory organ
in our bodies. The effort to create an artificial skin with human-like sensory capabilities is
motivated by the possibility of such large, multi-sensory surfaces being highly applicable for
autonomous artificial intelligence (e.g., robots), medical diagnostics, and replacement
prosthetic devices capable of providing the same, if not better, level of sensory perception
than the organic equivalent. Endowing robots with sensing capabilities could extend their
range of applications to include highly interactive tasks, and sensor skins applied on or in the
body could provide an unprecedented level of diagnostic and monitoring capabilities. An
artificial skin with such sensory capabilities is often referred to in the literature as sensitive
skin, smart skin, electronic skin or bionic skin. Although the primary function of human skin
is mechanical force sensing, electronic versions can be augmented with additional
capabilities. In artificial platforms, researchers can incorporate chemical and biological
sensors onto flexible substrates.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 2

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

2. BACKGROUND STUDY

Today’s rigid electronics aren’t good fit with soft human bodies. So a thin material
that can flex and even stretch without destroying its conductive properties is required to
create an electronic skin that can curve around an elbow or a knee. It should be able to create
large sheets of this stuff and embed it with sensors to mimic, the sensitivity of human skin.
Modern integrated circuits, including the microprocessors and the thin-film
transistors (TFT’s), are manufactured on rigid substrates like silicon and glass. Electronics
with greater flexibility is required to make an e-skin is needed, so the wiring, substrate and
all the circuitry must be bendable. Thin-film transistors (TFT’s) will be one of the key
elements in this electronics revolution. TFTs can be made of semiconductor materials which
can be deposited in thin layers. Someya-Sekitani Group has concluded that plastic films are
very promising. These plastic films are strong and hold up well against mechanical strain,
with low cost, and they’re compatible with new manufacturing processes. More than 2
million connections are required in a meter of the plastic sheet. Active matrix technology can
be used in e-skins with millions of embedded sensors and is used to make interconnects
between large number of components. The next challenge is the larger area needed to cover.
By using inkjet and other printing processes, reproduction costs can be reduced.

Fig.2.1 E-skin wrapped around Robotic hand

In 2003, Takao Someya’s lab at the University of Tokyo developed organic thin-film
transistors that are used to create an e-skin prototype for a robotic hand. In 2005, they
manufactured data sheet embedded with transistors and pressure sensors and then used a
mechanical punching process to remove the material between the sensor nodes. This created
a net like structure that could be stretched by 25 percent. By inventing a printable elastic

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 3

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

conductor that can be used for stretchable wires and contacts in integrated circuits, they were
able to stretch the material by 140 percent without interfering with its function. They made
the conductor out of rubber with carbon nanotubes distributed throughout the material in
tangled networks. When that rubber is stretched, those conductive nanotube networks change
their shape but they do not break.
The effectiveness of these conductors were demonstrated by integrating organic
LEDs (OLED, s) into the circuits, creating brilliant light up displays that could be folded into
or curved around a globe. But human bodies do not fold in simple ways, and our e-skin had
to match the body’s marvelous flexibility. So they set their minds to making ultrathin
electronics that could flex and also conform to a dynamic, three-dimensional shape.

Fig 2.2 LED’s integrated into substrate

In July 2013 Takao Someya’s team fabricated organic transistors and tactile sensors
on an ultrathin polymer sheet that measured 1 micrometer thick i.e., one-tenth of the
thickness of plastic wrap and is light enough to drift through the air like a feather, was used
as a base for fabricating TFT's and sensors.This material can withstand repeated bending,
crumple like paper, and accommodate stretching of up to 230 percent. It works at high
temperatures and in aqueous environments and even in saline solutions, meaning that it can
function inside the human body.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 4

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

Fig.2.3 Ultra-flexible circuits

In July 2013, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed the
first user-interactive “electronic skin” that responds to pressure by instantly emitting
light.The goal is to use human skin as a model and develop new types of electronics that
would enable us to interface with our environment in new ways.
The Berkley team suggested the invention could be useful in artificial skin for
prosthetic limbs, attached to human skin to monitor health, and used in robotics. Previously,
flexible sensors and flexible displays had been demonstrated, but never at the same time.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 5

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

3. ARTIFICIAL E-SKIN

Electronic skin or e-skin is a thin electronic material that mimics human skin in one
or more ways. Specifically, human skin can sense pressure and temperature, stretch, and can
heal itself. Electronic skin aims to apply these functions to robotic and health applications.

Fig.3.1 Artificial E-skin

The development of an electronic skin is critical to the realization of artificial

intelligence that comes into direct contact with humans, and to biomedical applications such
as prosthetic skin. A technology for the production of electronic skin needs to be reasonably
priced and able to produce the skin with high throughput. To successfully imitate the
properties of natural skin, large arrays of pixel pressure sensors on an elastic and stretchable
substrate are required. Need for a low-cost, large-area compatible technology for the
production of pressure-sensitive pixels that are sensitive in both the medium pressure regime
(10-100 kPa) to low pressure regime (<10 kPa, gentle touch around 1kPa) is essential.
Flexible pressure sensors that utilize the thin film capacitor and the organic field effect
transistor device structures are needed.

3.1 System Structure and Implementation

3.1.1 Organic Field Effect Transistors:
An organic field-effect transistor (OFET) is a field effect transistor using an organic
semiconductor in its channel. OFETs can be prepared either by vacuum evaporation of small
molecules, by solution casting of polymers or small molecules, or by mechanical transfer of a

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 6

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

peeled single-crystalline organic layer onto a substrate. OFETs have been fabricated with
various device geometries. All the layers of an OFET can be deposited and patterned at room
temperature by a combination of low cost solution-processing and direct-write printing.
These devices have been developed to realize low-cost, large-area electronic products and
biodegradable electronics.

3.1.1.1 C10DNTT
Organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) have gained great interest for their potential
application in electronic components and products, for example in flexible active-matrix
displays or flexible sensors. One important requirement for most applications is high charge-
carrier mobility. In 2007, the small-molecule p-channel semiconductor dinaphtho-[2,3-b:20
,30 -f]-thieno-[3,2-b]-thiophene (DNTT) was introduced and showed a relatively high hole
mobility up to 3 cm2 /V s, combined with excellent air stability . More recently, the alkylated
DNTT derivative C10-DNTT (2, 9-di-decyl-dinaphtho-[2, 3-b: 20, 30;-f]-thieno-[3, 2-b]-
thiophene) showed even higher hole mobility up to 12 cm2 / V s . These results show that the
strategic introduction of alkyl substituent into the molecular structure has an important effect
on the crystal structure and/or thin- film morphology of organic semiconductors and thereby
on the TFT performance. The molecule has a calculated length of 39.3 Å, a (0 01) interlayer
distance (d-spacing) deduced by structural X-ray analysis of 38.0 Å and a HOMO energy of
5.38 eV.

3.1.2 Flexible Array Sensors:

By integrating a flexible array of organic floating gate transistors with a pressure
sensitive rubber sheet, a sensor matrix that identifies the distribution of applied mechanical
pressure and stores the analog sensor input as a two-dimensional image over long periods of
time is obtained .Using organic transistors with a floating gate embedded in hybrid dielectrics
that comprise a 2-nanometer-thick molecular self-assembled monolayer and a 4-nanometer-
thick plasma grown metal oxide, a non-volatile memory arrays on flexible plastic substrates
is prepared which is used in electronic skin. The small thickness of the dielectrics allows
non-volatile, reversible threshold-voltage shift.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 7

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

3.1.3 Nanowire Arrays:

The nanowires are made of Ge or Si and they are rolled onto a polyimide base. This
forms a substrate for a rubber film that, when pressure is applied, changes thickness. This
change in material thickness is electrically measured through transistors and capacitors. This
material has good electrical properties and can thus operate at low voltages < 5 volts. The
semiconductor nanowires enable fabrication of high performance, bendable transistors and
sensors.

Fig.3.2 Semiconductor Nanowires

3.2 User Interactive E-Skin

A user interactive bionic or e-skin that not only maps the applied pressure but also
provides an instantaneous visual response through a built in active matrix. Organic Light
Emitting Diode (OLED) display with red, blue & green pixels is being developed recently.
The active matrix design is advantageous for user interface e-skin as it minimises signal
crosstalk & thereby offers better spatial resolution &contrast. Here an active matrix is
controlled by a thin-film transistor that acts as a switch for addressing either current or
voltage driver devices & is incorporated by carbon nanotubes. OLEDs are used in this system
where on the top of it, a pressure sensitive rubber (PSR) is laminated which is in electrical
contact with OLED at each pixel. Conductivity of PSR increases with increase in applied
pressure.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 8

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

Pressure images have been taken by flexible active matrix drivers with organic
transistors whose mobility reaches as high as 1.4 cm2/V.s.The e-skins may find a wide range
of applications in interactive input/control devices, smart wallpapers, robotics and
medical/health monitoring devices.

(a). Schematic layout of a single pixel (b). Schematic diagram of an array

Fig.3.3 Concept and structure of the user-interactive e-skin

3.2.1 Fabrication Methods:-

3.2.1.1 Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube TFT Active-Matrix Backplane
1. Spin coat polyimide (Polymide-2525) twice on the silicon handling wafer with a speed of
2000 rpm. Cure the polyimide at 300 0C for 1 hour with 5 0C per minute ramp rate starting
from room temperature. The resulting substrate thickness is ~ 24 μm.
2. Photolithography to define the gate electrodes (scan lines). E-beam evaporation of Ti/Au
(5/35 nm) followed by lift-off in acetone.
3. Deposit 60 nm of Al2O3 using atomic layer deposition at 2000 C and 5 nm of SiOx using e-
beam evaporation.
4. Surface functionalization and carbon nanotube network deposition.
a) Immerse the sample into poly-L-lysine (0.1% wt in water from Sigma Aldrich) solution
for 5 minutes to functionalize the SiOx surface followed by DI water rinse.
b) Next, immerse the amine-functionalized sample into the commercially available 0.01
mg/Ml 99% semiconducting nanotube solution for 15 minutes followed by DI water and
isopropanol rinse, and blow dry with nitrogen.
c) Anneal in vacuum oven at 2000 C for 1 h to further clean the surface and remove

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 9

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

surfactant residues.
5. Photolithography to define the source/drain electrodes (data lines). E-beam evaporation of
Ti/Pd (0.5/40 nm) followed by lift-off in acetone.
6. Photolithography to define the active channel region. Oxygen plasma (60 W, 180 mTorr,
15 sec) is used to etch the unwanted carbon nanotubes outside the channel region.
7. OLED integration
a) Photolithography to define the anodes of the OLEDs. DC sputtering of 50nm ITO
(50 W, 10 sccmAr) followed by lift-off in acetone.
b) Passivate the entire sample with photoresist. Photolithography to define
rectangular openings with a size of 0.91×0.67 mm2 on top of the all ITO electrodes.
c) Bake the sample in air at 2500 C on a hotplate for 30 minutes to anneal the
sputtered ITO and hard bake the photoresist.

d) OLED evaporation through a shadow mask with pixel patterns using a high
vacuum (~2×10-6 mbar) thermal evaporator in a glove box.
e)Deposition of 50 nm of 4-4’-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino]biphenyl (NPD),
40 nm of emissive layer, 1 nm of lithium fluoride (LiF) and 100 nm of Al consecutively for
OLEDs.
8. The fully fabricated sample is delaminated from the silicon handling wafer.
9. Ag ink is used to coat one side of the pressure sensitive rubber (PSR) to work as the
ground electrode. The PSR (PCR Technical, JAPAN) is laminated on top of the OLEDs to
work as pressure sensors.

Fig.3.4 Schematic illustration of fabrication process for user-interactive e-skin

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 10

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

3.3 Bionic Skin

Bionic skin is defined as the flexible electronic mesh, embedded with temperature
and pressure sensors, which could be worn by a robot or can be applied on human skin. It
consists of plastic film base, and match normal human skins with amazing flexibility. Bionic
or E-skin basically consist of tactile sensors along with transistors with conducting
interconnects.

Fig.3.5 Bionic skin applied on human skin

3.3.1 Thin Film Transistors (TFT)

A thin-film transistor (TFT) is a special kind of field-effect transistor made by
depositing thin films of an active semiconductor layer as well as the dielectric layer and
metallic contacts over a supporting (but non-conducting) substrate. Due to its small size , it
requires very minimal power to operate, hence they can be used in large numbers
together.Moreover , for flexible substrate , a special type of TFT called Organic TFT is used
which has organic semiconducting compounds , as polymer in bionic skin. These devices
have been developed to realize low-cost, large-area electronic products and biodegradable
electronics.

3.3.2 Sensors
Sensors play a key role as they have to be as responsive as the human skin. Highly
sensitive heat and tactile sensors to match, normal skins responsiveness. For this purpose

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 11

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

special sensors are made using the thin film layering process similar to TFT's having greater
amount of sensitivity.
Types of sensors used are:-
 Tactile or touch sensors
 Thermal or heat sensors
 Pressure sensors.

3.3.3 Fabrication on Plastic Base

The fabrication process of TFT and other components is achieved mostly by using
inkjet technology, used in inkjet printers. Inkjet technology can deliver the exact amount of
any substance you want applied to precisely targeted positions, which reduces the waste of
raw material. Printing processes can simultaneously apply the coating and the circuitry
pattern of thin-film materials, which are usually performed as separate steps when
semiconductors are manufactured via lithography.
The conducting material to be used should also be flexible enough so that connection
does not break. The solution to this is:-
1. Active Matrix Technology
2. Carbon Nanotubes

3.3.3.1 Active Matrix Technology

Column and row numbers are used to specify the sensors address which reduces the
number of connections necessary, &is used to make interconnects between large numbers of
components.

3.3.3.2 Carbon NanoTubes

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure.
Due to their cylindrical organization of carbon molecules, it acts a good conductor and is
quite flexible too. In manufacture of e-skins the conductor was made out of rubber with
carbon nano tubes distributed throughout the material in tangled networks. When the rubber
is stretched, those conductive nano tube networks change their shape but do not break.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 12

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

Using the technologies explained in the previous sections, highly integrated systems
of mechanically compliant sensor arrays possessing multiple functionalities have been
reported. A selected number of recent advancements will be described in this section, along
with some of their demonstrated applications in the fields of biomedical devices, robotics,
and optoelectronics.

3.4 Applications
3.4.1 Robotics
Robots have already mastered in picking and placing, welding, and other similar tasks,
but they cannot perform tasks that require a sense of touch. Biotech wizards have engineered
electronic skin that can sense touch, which is a major step towards next-generation robotics.
 New Pressure-Sensitive Electronic Skin can be used to build more sophisticated and
intelligent robots which will give Robots human-like touch.
 E-skin can be wrapped around parts of the robot which helps to build more flexible
parts.
 Complex human features such as touch, ability to feel breeze and reflex actions on
basis of stimuli can be integrated.

Fig.3.6 Robotic sensors implementing Fig.3.7 Highly integrated

E-skin techno e-skins for robotics

3.4.2 Biomedics
E-skin has the critical ability to sense many variables at once. Doctors can use these
flexible devices to monitor a patient’s vital signs without the need for bulky electrodes &
wires.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 13

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

 E-Skin can be applied on prosthetic parts giving them real part like responses and
touch.
 Used for pulse & blood pressure measurement.
 Used for measuring electrical activity in both the brain and heart.
 Multifunctional balloon catheter collects data on temperature, pressure, and tactile
stimuli during surgical procedures.
 Bao’s pressure sensor, can be hidden under a Band-Aid, detects the pulse in a
person’s wrist.

Fig.3.8 Multifunctional Balloon Catheter

Fig.3.9 Pressure sensor hidden under Band-Aid - Highly integrated e-skins for biomedical applications

3.4.3 Optoelectronics
 Stretchable and twistable GaAs-based arrays of micro-LEDs (μ -ILEDs) and
micro-photo detectors (μ -IPDs) can be integrated into gloves.
 The μ -ILEDs and μ -IPDs could be used to monitor the proximity of objects
based on the detection of backscattered light.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 14

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

Fig.3.10 Stretchable and twistable LED arrays.

3.4.4 Wireless Communication

The fabrication of these circuits has been started directly on to the skin in the same
fashion as temporary tattoo, called electrical epidermis, which contained the antenna and
ancillary components needed for radio-frequency communication.
 Linking sensors with radio-frequency communication modules within an e-skin
would allow the wireless transmission of information from skin to computer.
 Organic transistor-based amplifiers are distributed throughout the film. This allows
to detect signals very close to the source, which is key to improving the signal-to-
noise ratio, and thus the accuracy of the measurements.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 15

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

4. CONCLUSION

In the past decade, the pace of e-skin development has accelerated significantly owing
to the availability of new materials and processes. As a result of this progress, the
capabilities of e-skin are rapidly converging. Interest in e-skin has been driven by its
potential to:
1) Enable highly the development of interactive and versatile robots that are capable of
performing complex tasks in less structured environments
2) Facilitate conformable displays and optics
3) Revolutionize healthcare by providing biomimetic prostheses, constant health monitoring
technologies, and unprecedented diagnostic and treatment proficiency. Sensors and
circuits have already exceeded the properties of biological skin in many respects. Electronic
devices have been fabricated that stretch many times further than skin, flexible tactile sensors
have been demonstrated that possess vastly superiorspatial resolution to human skin, and
tactile and temperature sensors are available with enhanced sensitivity over their natural
counterpart. Despite rapid progress, there is a continuing need for further development before
the goal of integrating multiple functionalities into large-area, low-cost sensor arrays is
realized. From a design stand point, e-skin requires active circuitry to address large numbers
of devices with minimal wiring complexity and fast scan rates. Furthermore, the ability to
mimic the mechanical properties of human skin (e.g., flexibility and stretch ability) is critical
in order to accommodate the various movements ofthe user. This can be accomplished
through the use of intrinsically stretchable materials or rigid device islands tethered together
through flexible interconnects. While the latter leverages the extensive optimization of rigid
devices, the former may have advantages in terms of cost and robustness. Several highly
integrated e-skins demonstrating multiple functionalities for applications such as biomedical
devices, robotics, and optoelectronics have been recently reported.
Future work will probably involve continuing efforts to improve the performance and
reduce the cost of tactile devices integrated with transistor matrices. Furthermore, integrating
multiple functionalities (such as temperature, shear, and vibration sensing) with active matrix
arrays is an area of tremendous opportunity.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 16

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

One particular challenge in the future of e-skin will be neural interfacing. Work has
already begun to overcome this obstacle, and recently, a neutrally controlled robotic arm
capable of 3D reach and grasp movements was reported. Additionally, a bionic ear has been
demonstrated with the capability to receive RF signals beyond that of the human ear. The
rapid pace of progress in e-skin technology suggests that the fabrication of a more complex
e-skin with properties far surpassing those of their organic equivalent will soon be possible.

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 17

 Electronic skin using C10DNTT organic transistor

REFERENCES

1. Tsuyoshi Sekitani ,Takayasu Sakurai , University of Tokyo HongO,Tokyo, JAPAN

Electrical artificial skin using ultraflexible organic transistor ,IEEE , May 29 - June
07 2013, Austin, TX, USA.
2. ChuanWang1,2,3(, David Hwang1,2,3, Zhibin Yu1,2,3, Kuniharu Takei1,2,3, Junwoo
Park4, Teresa Chen4,Biwu Ma3,4 and Ali Javey1,2,3, User-interactive electronic skin
for instantaneous pressure visualization, Nature materials,vol 12 ,October 2013
3. ‘Takao Someya*†, Tsuyoshi Sekitani*, Shingo Iba*, Yusaku Kato*, Hiroshi
Kawaguchi, and Takayasu Sakurai, University of Tokyo, A large-area, flexible
pressure sensor matrix with organic field-effect transistors for artificial skin
applications, PNAS_ July 6, 2004.
4. Ramuz, M., Tee, B. C-K., Tok, J. B-H. &Bao. Z, Transparent, optical, pressure
sensitive artificial skin for large-area stretchable electronics. Adv. Mater. 24,
3223_3227 (2012).
5. Someya, T. et al. Conformable, flexible, large-area networks of pressure and thermal
sensors with organic transistor active matrixes. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci.USA 102,
12321_12325 (2005).
6. Wagner, S. et al. Electronic skin: Architecture and components. Physica E
25,326_334 (2004).
7. Sekitani, T. &Someya, T. Stretchable, large-area organic electronics. Adv.Mater. 22,
2228_2246 (2010).
8. Electronic Skin: Achievements, Issues and Trend.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212017314001303
9. http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/bionics/bionic-skin-for-a-cyborg-you
10. http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/materials-science/organic-electronics/dntt-based-
organic-semiconductors.html
11. http://www.fkf.mpg.de/2604976/Hofmockel-OrgElectronics-2013-3213.pdf

Holy Grace academy of engineering, ECE Dept. 18