Sputtered Thermoelectric Nanoparticles for an Ultra-Thin, Flexible and Cuttable Self-Powered Temperature Sensor

Abstract

Inadequate energy for the growing population has been a major concern in the recent years. Though efforts are being made to alleviate this problem, the crisis still exists. For this reason, the focus of the scientific community is directed towards self-powered technology. As technology is getting smart, smart sensors are also gaining attention. Human beings are getting more and more concerned about their health and opt for the best personalized health care devices. Body temperature is a vital sign which reflects the health condition and thermoregulation in human beings. For continuous monitoring of body temperature, devices which are compact, lightweight and self-powered is therefore desirable. So, we design a highly flexible, ultra-thin and conformable temperature sensor which just uses heat from the body as a power source and senses the body temperature precisely. The sensor works on thermoelectric effect and can detect any surface temperature from room temperature to 100 ˚C and also room temperature to 0 ˚C owing to its conformable and compact design and can be cut into desirable shapes and size. For a temperature gradient of 75 ˚C the sensor gives and output voltage of 0.4 mV and can even detect a human finger touch with an accurate body temperature. Such flexible and thin device can be used in day to day monitoring of human beings enabling it to be used as a wearable temperature sensor, hot or cold surface temperature measurement which may create injury if touched or as a biomedical device for the measurement of hyperthermia or even monitoring the health of pets.