The fast expanding field of wearable technology requires light-weight, low-cost, scalable, flexible and efficient energy harvesters as a source of uninterrupted green power. This work reports fabrication of sub-micron graphite platelet/PVDF composite film-based flexible piezoelectric energy harvester (PGEH) for scavenging the wasted mechanical energy associated with human body motion. The addition of graphite platelet leads to the enhancement of electroactive β phase in PVDF; consequently, the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composite are enhanced. 0.5 wt% filler-loaded composite has 96% β phase fraction and dielectric constant 32 at 100 Hz (tanδ = 0.18).The PGEH produces open circuit voltage of 40 V and instantaneous power density of 3.35 mW cm− 3 with energy conversion efficiency of 22.5% under periodic finger tapping. It can generate fair electrical output under gentle heel (0.8 V) and toe movements (1.2 V). A PGEH is directly employed for powering 50 commercial LEDs and quick charging of a 2.2-μF capacitor upto 19.2 V. The device is also employed as self-powered dynamic pressure sensor which shows high sensitivity (0.9 VkPa− 1) with fast response time (1 ms). Therefore, this durable, flexible, efficient PGEH can have promising applications in wearable electronics as a green power source cum self-powered mechanosensor.

본 논문에서는 유연/인쇄 전자 기술을 활용해 고성능의 유기물 반도체 기반 트랜지스터를 개발하고, 이를 통해 인공지능용 반도체 및 폴리모픽 전자회로에 응용하기 위해 공액구조 고분자 반도체 소재의 광파 어닐링 방법에 따른 특성 향상 효과를 연구하였다. 일반적으로 열처리를 위해 가장 많이 활용되는 핫플레이트의 경우 반도체 소자 특성의 균일도 문제와 높은 온도 및 열-용량으로 인한 플라스틱 기판 사용의 제한, 긴 어닐링 시간 등의 문제로 인해 실제 산업에서 활용하는데 어려움이 있다. 이를 해결하기 위해 광파를 활용한 효과적인 유기물 반도체 필름의 열처리 공정을 개발함으로써 Roll-to-Roll 방식의 고속/대면적 인쇄 공정에 적합한 열처리 방법과 반도체 층 전체의 높은 결정화도 유도를 통한 성능 향상과 소자 균일도 개선을 위한 방법을 개발하였다.

In this study, an oxygen plasma treatment was used as a low temperature debinding method to form a conductive copper feature on a flexible substrate using a direct printing process. To demonstrate this concept, conductive copper patterns were formed on polyimide films using a copper nanoparticle-based paste with polymeric binders and dispersing agents and a screen printing method. Thermal and oxygen plasma treatments were utilized to remove the polymeric vehicle before a sintering of copper nanoparticles. The effect of the debinding methods on the phase, microstructure and electrical conductivity of the screen-printed patterns was systematically investigated by FE-SEM, TGA, XRD and four-point probe analysis. The patterns formed using oxygen plasma debinding showed the well-developed microstructure and the superior electrical conductivity compared with those of using thermal debinding.