Abstract
The integration of increasingly complex functionalities within thermally drawn multi-material fibers is heralding a novel path towards advanced soft electronics and smart fabrics. Fibers capable of electronic, optoelectronic, piezoelectric or energy harvesting functions are created by assembling new materials in intimate contact within increasingly complex architectures. Thus far, however, the opportunities associated with the integration of cantilever-like structures with freely moving functional domains within multi-material fibers have not been explored. Used extensively in the micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) technology, electro-mechanical transductance from moving and bendable domains is used in a myriad of applications. In this article we demonstrate the thermal drawing of micro-electromechanical fibers (MEMF) that can detect and localize pressure with high accuracy along their entire length. This ability results from an original cantilever-like design where a freestanding electrically conductive polymer composite film bends under an applied pressure. As it comes into contact with another conducting domain, placed at a prescribed position in the fiber cross-section, an electrical signal is generated. We show that by a judicious choice of materials and electrical connectivity, this signal can be uniquely related to a position along the fiber axis. We establish a model that predicts the position of a local touch from the measurement of currents generated in the 1D MEMF device, and demonstrate an excellent agreement with the experimental data. This ability to detect and localize touch over large areas, curved surfaces and textiles holds significant opportunities in robotics and prosthetics, flexible electronic interfaces, and medical textiles.
Highlights
The recent development of fiber processing technologies has enabled the fabrication of fibrous structures with increasingly complex functionalities
In this article we demonstrate the thermal drawing of micro-electromechanical fibers (MEMF) that can detect and localize pressure with high accuracy along their entire length
The thermal drawing process used to fabricate optical fibers has experienced a series of breakthroughs that have extended the range of cross-sectional architectures and materials that can be integrated in fibers [1,2,3]
Summary
The recent development of fiber processing technologies has enabled the fabrication of fibrous structures with increasingly complex functionalities. The understanding of the viscous flow and surface science at play in this approach has led to the design and fabrication of fibers with new materials It was shown in particular that crystalline materials, if encapsulated well within cavities with high viscosity boundaries, can be integrated and flow as a low viscosity melt during the fiber pulling down to the micrometer scale before capillary breakup [8]. This has been exploited in optics for the fabrication of solid core polycrystalline semiconductor fibers [9, 10]. Polymer fibers with electrically conducting domains can be used in optical imaging systems [26], or in purely electronic functions, such as touch sensing [27, 28] or capacitors [29]
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