Graphene Based Low Voltage Field Effect Transistor Coupled with Biodegradable Piezoelectric Material Based Dynamic Pressure Sensor

Pressure sensors form the basic building block for realization of an electronic or tactile skin used in prothesis, robotics, and other similar applications. This paper presents a device consisting of biodegradable piezoelectric material based dynamic pressure sensor coupled with a graphene field-effect-transistor (GFET) operated at very low voltage (50 mV). The device has a biodegradable β-glycine/chitosan composite based metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structure connected with GFET in an extended gate configuration. The developed device shows a sensitivity of 2.70 × 10–4 kPa–1 for a pressure range of 5–20 kPa and 7.56 × 10–4 kPa–1 for a pressure range between 20 and 35 kPa. A distinctive feature of the presented device is its very low operation voltage, which offers a significant advantage toward the development of energy efficient large-area electronic skin. Further, the biodegradability of piezoelectric material makes the presented sensors useful in terms of reduced electronic waste, which is currently another growing area of interest.