Highly Sensitive Piezo-Based Touch Sensor

for
Robotics Applications

Edgar Arturo Monje Nubes

Technology and Society

Introduction
Robotic arms are very important in different
processes of manufacturing. We need them to
be more precise, agile and stable.

One of the most used sensors are touch

sensors that privide contact information
from the surrounding.
Introduction

What researchers are creating is artificial

skin so that robots can feel. This artificial
skin can determine the magnitude and
location of contacts. This artificial skin
was developed using piezo-resistive
sensor arrays and a set of algorithms
that classify each response of the
sensors when they make contact with the
environment.
 Introduction
The proposed sensor composed of piezoresistive thin film transistor (tft)
with piezoelectric harvester togenerate the gate voltage of the tft.
The developed touch sensor in this paper can sense the presence of an
object when contacting.

Furthermore, when the robot holds an object to carry, a certain power

should be applied in order not to break the object or let it fall, and this
certain power could be detected using the sensor as the amount of the
generated current depends on the pressure value applied.

What distinguishes the proposed sensor is that the structure

is designed to be composed of 7300 tft that all work as small
sensors and that will enhance the enhance the sensitivity of
the sensor. It could be placed on the finger tips as large
numbers of sensors are required in a small space.
 Theory
Piezo-resistive effect

This change in the resistance value due to the applied

stress is a function of the geometry of the device and
resistivity changes.

For piezoresistive sensing, both p-type and n-type

silicon materials are used. This effect is utilized by the
device to provide an output current corresponding to
the applied stress input to the device.

The application of this harvester requires input

pressure from surrounding objects when the robot
catch
them, which is considered to be very low for soft
objects.
Theory
Hence, the high sensor sensitivity is required to detect
pressure with high resolution. The sensitivity of a
piezo-resistive sensor is calculated using the following
equation:

Where l is the length, w is the width, and t is the

thickness.
 Estructure Description
The structure is composed of the piezoelectric layer with three
fractals, one in the bottom at the gate, and two fractals at the
top of the structure work as the source and the drain and all
together combining a thin film transistor (TFT). A voltage is
applied on the gate fractal at the bottom of the structure. The
applied gate voltage along with the mechanical properties is
transferred to the piezoresistive layer, resulting in surface
carrier accumulation, bending and lowering of the conduction
bond in the piezoresistive layer. The current value of this layer
powers the electrical conditional circuits connected to the
sensor. The peculiar feature of the device is the utilization of
three different fractal patterns stacked intermittently between
other layers. The TFT requires a gate voltage to be triggered.
The device is expected to produce an output current and
voltage with an application load. The load is applied at the
bottom of the sensor.
 Estructure Description
Figure 1 shows the cross sectional view of the device. Metal 7
layer is the gate fractal layer. The insulating oxide layer is
introduced in order to isolate the gate from the piezoresistive
layer and ensure that no current conduction occurs between
the gate and the source or the drain. Figure 2 shows a top
view of the drain and source fractal patterns as used in the
device. The source pattern from the top layer is grounded by
connecting it internally to metal 8 layer. The drain pattern is
connected internally with another pad of metal 8 for biasing.
The resistance of the piezoresistive layer is changed due to
the effect of the vibration force. The application of load along
with the gate voltage and changing resistance in the
piezoresistive layer induces current variation between the
drain and the source fractal patterns within the top fractal
layer.
 Estructure Description
Output voltage and current from the sensor are proportional to
object contact with the surface of the sensor, thus are used to
sense objects in the surrounding. For the same device a
different structure could be done by removing the gate fractal
layer to make the floating gate. The first fractal layer in the
bottom acts as the ‘gate’ for the device. The insulating layer is
made up of silicon dioxide with a thickness of 0.3um. The
piezoresistive layer is 0.5um and thick and uses germanium.
The two interconnected patterns on top of the piezoresistive
layer lie in a single layer on the same plane and are the drain
and the source of the device. The gate fractal uses platinum
as its material and the drain and source fractals are made of
gold. All of the fractals have a thickness of 0.05um.
 Estructure Description
A heavily doped layer of microcrystalline silicon of 0.01um
thickness is layered between the piezoresistive layer and the
drain and source fractals for enhancing carrier injection. The
stacked arrangement of layers forms a square with its top
view with 1000um length sides. Figure 2 shows the drain and
source fractal patterns as used in the device and figure 3
details the gate fractal pattern. The device is expected to
produce an output current and voltage with an application
load. The load is applied at the bottom electrode layer, and
the device is fixed on two ends.
 Device Operation
This device is developed to be used in robotics applications
as it’s sensitive to the object’s presence. The dimension of the
device is 1000 x1000 um and is composed of integrated 7300
thin film transistors that function as a pressure sensor; this
increases its contact sensitivity to objects. Presence of object
on robot’s finger applies a mechanical stress on the bottom of
the structure, and an external voltage is applied to the gate.
The insulating oxide layer ensures that no current conduction
occurs between the gate and the source or the drain. The
applied gate voltage along with the mechanical properties are
transferred to the PZR layer. Due to that, the surface carrier
accumulation, bending and lowering of the conduction bond
happened in the PZR layer and changes its resistance.
Current is induced between the source and the drain and is
proportional to the object’s presence. Device operation is
illustrated briefly in figure 4
Conclusion

It seems to me that in some way this is a form of circuit

designed in the form of artificial skin that takes the signal from
a pressure sensor (tft) required to activate a gate, when the
signal reaches a certain level. Where the piezo-resistive layer
is what regulates the flow of electrical energy as a function of
the mechanical force to which it is subjected.