A research group led by Professor Lee Sungwon of DGIST has produced the world’s first nanomesh structured electronic membrane device (organic field effect transistor) . This World’s first electronic skin device, which consists of only nanomesh structure that can measure and process bio signals for a long time, is a big step towards a unified system for electronic devices.
The research team, led by Professor Lee Sungwon from the Department of Physics and Chemistry of DGIST, succeeded in creating the world’s first organic nanomesh field effect transistor that can be incorporated into a skin-based electronic device. Nanomesh OFETs, in combination with various sensors, should enable direct measurement of physiological data from tissue surfaces and improve data processing.
Electronic skin refers to electronic devices worn on the skin to collect vital signs, such as temperature, heart rate, electromyogram, and blood pressure, and transmit data. In response to the recent increase in interest in smart health systems with wearable devices, related technologies are active. A flexible sensor that can be attached to the delicate, moving surface of the skin is required to accurately measure symptoms using direct medical care systems.
As a result, flat materials such as plastic and rubber are used to manufacture many electronic devices that are worn on the skin. However, the long-term addition of a seed with a flat surface structure and low moisture and vapor permeability to biological skin can cause unexpected diseases (such as atopy, metabolic diseases, among others). Therefore, it is important for electronic devices that enter the living body to have a high capacity to ensure long-term use. For this reason, research on nanomesh devices based on polymeric nanofibers with good properties has attracted much attention.
A research team led by Lee Sungwon at DGIST has developed a highly sensitive nanomesh organic field effect transistor that causes almost no discomfort to users and can be integrated with various sensors. In particular, the developed organic field effect transistor device showed consistent performance even when bent or distorted, without any degradation of performance even under extreme environmental conditions such as 1,000 deformations and high humidity.
The production of nanomesh transistors is difficult due to the hard surface and the inertness and thermal and chemical stability. Professor Lee Sungwon’s team solved these problems simultaneously by using a material called Parylene C as a biocompatible coating. In addition, the heat transfer method is usually used for simple processing instead of processing or high temperature processing.
Professor Lee Sungwon from the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST said, “We have successfully developed an organic nanomesh field effect transistor for the first time and demonstrated a matrix active touch sensor. The development of transistors is necessary to build complex circuits, and now with nanomesh electronic devices, long-term measurement and physiological data processing in real time is possible.
The research has been published in Advanced Functional Materials, an international journal in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
