Electret Film-Enhanced Triboelectric Nanogenerator Matrix for Self-Powered Instantaneous Tactile Imaging

We report the first self-powered electronic skin that consists of light-emitting diode (LED) and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) arrays that can be utilized for spatially mapping applied instantaneous-touch events and tracking the movement location of the target object by recording the electroluminescent signals of the LEDs without external power sources. The electret film-based TENG can deliver an open-circuit voltage of about −1070 V, a short-circuit current density of 10 mA/m2, and a power density of 288 mW/m2 on an external load of 100 MΩ. The LEDs can be turned on locally when the back surface of the active matrix is touched, and the intensity of the emitted light depends on the magnitude of the applied local pressure on the device. A constructed active matrix of the LED-TENG array (8 × 7 pixels) can achieve self-powered, visual, and high-resolution tactile sensing by recording the electroluminescent signals from all of the pixels, where the active size of each pixel can be decreased to 10 mm2. This work is a significant step forward in self-powered tactile-mapping visualization technology, with a wide range of potential applications in touchpad technology, personal signatures, smart wallpapers, robotics, and safety-monitoring devices.