Design and Simulation of Piezoelectric-Charge-Gated Thin-Film Transistor for Tactile Sensing

This letter reports on an electronic device that can work as a tactile force sensor with a high spatial resolution and sensitivity. It integrates a thin-film piezoelectric sensor with a thin-film transistor (TFT) to form a dual-gate force-sensitive TFT. The piezoelectric sensor acts as a top-sensing terminal, which is charge-gated. An analytical model of the device is given to elaborate how the output current varies with the applied force, and a numerical study is conducted to evaluate its sensitivity, noise, and dynamic range. The integrated sensor can be potentially pixelated to form a high-resolution tactile sensor array, promising for electronic skin applications.