Visualizing Quasi‐Static Electric Fields with Flexible and Printed Organic Transistors

Abstract

AbstractUnlike electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves, infrared‐visible‐ultraviolet, and X‐rays, static or quasi‐static electric fields are rarely utilized for visualization in people's lives and industries. The difficulty in measuring quasi‐static electric fields is mainly due to low‐energy photons and the lack of integrable devices with high sensitivity to detect them. Here, a novel quasi‐static electric field sensor based on a floating extended gate organic field‐effect transistor is shown, which is highly sensitive, integrable as an array, ultra‐flexible, highly expandable, and digitally printable. The sensor has a thickness of ≈2 µm and can detect the proximity to human hands with low static electricity at a distance of tens of centimeters. The sensor can provide a new vision of electric charges, proximity sensing capability, and, in the future, a noncontact method for measuring biological activities such as brain waves.