Simulation assisted flexibility improvement studies for flexible transparent printed touch sensors

Touch sensors are an integral part of modern electronic devices, and there are extensive efforts to fabricate flexible user-device interface sensors. The properties of these sensors need to be well studied to enhance their flexible performance. In this work, an interlaced capacitive touch sensor is analyzed using finite element analysis (FEA) and the sensor performance with bending is also explained. The simulated results are in agreement with the experimental values reported in our previous work; a reduction is observed in capacitance with touch and with bending. These studies help to understand and optimize the structure of the touch sensor and thereby improve flexibility performance. The bending simulations can also be extended to other flexible electronic devices and designs.