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Schematic illustration of structures of thin film transistors. a) Planar TFT on a flat substrate, b) pre‐demonstrated fibriform TFT based on a conductive fiber, and c) fibrous TFT based on twisted electrode microfibers. d) Schematic illustration of fabrication process of DSA‐fiber TFT. e) Cross‐sectional SEM image (top) and optical microscopy image (bottom) of P3HT film coated on Au microfiber. f) Top‐view SEM image of twisted microfibers with coated P3HT film. g) Photograph of DSA‐fiber TFT with a diameter of 0.57 mm. h) Cross‐sectional SEM image of the proposed DSA‐fiber TFT.
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Herein, a unique device architecture is proposed for fibrous organic transistors based on a double‐stranded assembly of electrode microfibers for electronic textile applications. A key feature of this work is that the semiconductor channel of the fiber transistor comprises a twist assembly of the source and drain electrode microfibers that are coat...
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In this paper, we investigated the performance of thin-film transistors (TFTs) with different channel configurations including single-active-layer (SAL) Sn-Zn-O (TZO), dual-active-layers (DAL) In-Sn-O (ITO)/TZO, and triple-active-layers (TAL) TZO/ITO/TZO. The TAL TFTs were found to combine the advantages of SAL TFTs (a low off-state current) and DA...
Citations
... 13 For example, materials, such as organic semiconductors, CNTs, graphene, and metal nanoparticles, have been uniformly mixed with polymer materials and spun into fibers. [14][15][16][17][18] Alternatively, nanomaterials, such ARTICLE pubs.aip.org/aip/adv as conductive polymers (PEDOT:PSS, polyaniline, and polypyrrole) and metal particles (AgNP/GNP, GeNP, and AuNC), have been coated or embedded in fibers. [19][20][21][22][23][24] When applying wearable sensors to the human body, various distortions that interfere with precise measurements must be overcome to ensure accuracy and stability. ...
As climate change intensifies, summer temperatures are gradually rising, resulting in an increase in heat-related illnesses among individuals exposed to heatwaves. Consequently, wearable sensors for external environmental monitoring are gaining prominence as personal healthcare and safety diagnosis systems. Wearable temperature sensors must provide stable sensing even when subjected to various external environmental changes, such as repetitive movement, humidity, and water contact. In this study, a fiber-type temperature sensor with an embedded MXene (Ti3C2Tx) was fabricated. MXene was synthesized by etching aluminum (Al) from Ti3AlC2 (MAX phase powder) using a mixture of Li salt and hydrochloric acid (HCl) and then prepared as an aqueous dispersion. Subsequently, conductive fibers were fabricated by embedding MXene into polyester fibers via a dipping–drying process. To mitigate susceptibility to moisture, hydrophobic 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,9,9,10,10,10-heptadecafluorodecylphosphonic acid (HDF-PA) was applied to the surface of the MXene embedded in the fiber, providing hydrophobicity. The temperature range of 0–50 °C was monitored by measuring the resistance change in the fabricated HDF-PA-coated MXene-embedded fiber. Furthermore, sensing characteristics remained robust even under a bending radius of 15–3 mm. In addition, the sensor was confirmed to operate stably despite physical deformation from repeated bending up to 1000 times, as well as exposure to 50%–90% RH and 1 h of immersion in water, demonstrating excellent durability and water resistance.
... The biosensor based on electronic textiles can continuously detect the signal of the human body. It can detect the pulse [148,149] , heart rate [150,151] , respiration [152] , and other signals of people by making textile sensors into clothing and other daily textiles to achieve disease diagnosis, healthcare [153,154] , and other functions. In disease diagnosis and medical care, multimodal signal detection can monitor human body status more comprehensively and accurately. ...
... At present, many electronic textiles with excellent durability have been reported through structural design, material selection, and packaging technology. Some of these textiles have a cycle life exceeding 10,000 cycles [149,178,217] . In order to promote the development of electronic textiles, we discuss the advanced manufacturing technologies in this review in detail. ...
Smart wearable electronic devices capable of information exchanging (such as human-machine interfaces) have developed into key carriers for the interconnection, intercommunication, and interaction between humans and machines. Multimodal electronic textiles that incorporate multifunctional sensors into daily clothing are an emerging technology to realize smart wearable electronics. This has greatly advanced human-machine interface technology by bridging the gap between wearing comfort and traditional wearable electronic devices, which will facilitate the rapid development and wide application of natural human-machine interfaces. In this article, we provide a comprehensive summary of the latest research progress on multimodal electronic textiles for intelligent human-machine interfaces. Firstly, we introduce the most representative electronic textile manufacturing strategies in terms of functional fiber preparation and multimodal textile forming. Then, we explore the multifunctional sensing capability of multimodal electronic textiles and emphasize their advanced applications in intelligent human-machine interfaces. Finally, we present new insights on the future research directions and the challenges faced in practical applications of multimodal electronic textiles.
... Textile platform with functional fibrous devices could offer an opportunity to realize previously unidentified types of electronic systems with a freedom of form factor (1,3,15), unlimited scalability (2,16,17), and high upgradability (18,19) after systemization. In this regard, fabrication technologies of fiber electronic devices and their integration strategies into textiles are needed (20)(21)(22). In particular, the development of automated processes including weaving and interconnection of fiber-based photonic, electronic, and energy devices into a single textile system for large-scale applications is at a nascent stage (23)(24)(25)(26)(27). ...
An integrated textile electronic system is reported here, enabling a truly free form factor system via textile manufacturing integration of fiber-based electronic components. Intelligent and smart systems require freedom of form factor, unrestricted design, and unlimited scale. Initial attempts to develop conductive fibers and textile electronics failed to achieve reliable integration and performance required for industrial-scale manufacturing of technical textiles by standard weaving technologies. Here, we present a textile electronic system with functional one-dimensional devices, including fiber photodetectors (as an input device), fiber supercapacitors (as an energy storage device), fiber field-effect transistors (as an electronic driving device), and fiber quantum dot light-emitting diodes (as an output device). As a proof of concept applicable to smart homes, a textile electronic system composed of multiple functional fiber components is demonstrated, enabling luminance modulation and letter indication depending on sunlight intensity.
... Moreover, these transistors have a large operating voltage and are sensitive to the thickness of the gate dielectric layer, which further limits their electrical performance on fabrics. To overcome these drawbacks, different device structures were demonstrated on OECTs [35,36,[41][42][43][44][45][46]. One typical structure was formed by placing two fibers coated with conductive materials in a cross geometry with a drop of solid electrolyte at the intersection. ...
Wearable electronics on fibers or fabrics assembled with electronic functions provide a platform for sensors, displays, circuitry, and computation. These new conceptual devices are human-friendly and programmable, which makes them indispensable for modern electronics. Their unique properties such as being adaptable in daily life, as well as being lightweight and flexible, have enabled many promising applications in robotics, healthcare, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Transistors, one of the fundamental blocks in electronic systems, allow for signal processing and computing. Therefore, study leading to integration of transistors with fabrics has become intensive. Here, several aspects of fiber-based transistors are addressed, including materials, system structures, and their functional devices such as sensory, logical circuitry, memory devices as well as neuromorphic computation. Recently reported advances in development and challenges to realizing fully integrated electronic textile (e-textile) systems are also discussed.
Graphical Abstract
... [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Textile-based functional devices have recently attracted extensive attention for their ability to harvest/storage energy and perceive, communicate, display, and store/process information because electronic textiles can be seamlessly connected to the human body, which is a natural carrier of artificial intelligence. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] As fundamental units of ubiquitous textiles, one-dimensional (1D) functional fibers that feature with unique advantages including being lightweight, ultra-flexible, and omnidirectional light absorbers are of great significance to futuristic electronic textiles; meanwhile, they can further be freely woven into breathable textiles through mature weaving technology. [22][23][24][25][26] In human interactions with the outside world, the visual system plays a significant role since over 80% of information from the outside is received through our eyes. ...
... S. J. Kim et al. proposed a new strategy for preparing fiber thin-film transistors, which differs from the conventional patterning or thin-film deposition on a fiber substrate by using fiber-optic organic transistors (DSA fiber TFTs) with electrode microfiber twisted assemblies [76]. The basic fabrication process is shown in Figure 6(C), where the source and drain of the device are realized by twisting microfibers coated with a polymer semiconductor layer. ...
With the development of the Internet of Things era, smart wearable devices have gradually entered people’s daily life, and these devices have provided great convenience to human beings in terms of real-time detection of human health and information transmission. Smart wearable electronic devices have also been gradually developed from smart bracelets, smart watches and smart glasses into fibers or textiles. Organic thin film transistor (OTFT) as a key component of flexible electronic devices has an important role in signal amplification, signal filtering, signal transmission, signal reception and storage. In this paper, we introduce the recent progress of OTFT based on 2D film and 1D fiber from the substrate of OTFT, and focus on the preparation method and performance of OTFT based on 1D fiber from the conductive fiber. In addition, some practical applications of OTFT sensors in human health detection are introduced.
... The use of non-volatile gels enabled stable recordings over several days 260 . A novel organic EGT geometry based on conducting fibres encapsulated in a soft biodegradable polymer was integrated with textiles and used to record cardiac activity 261 . The high transconductance of OECTs with internal ion reservoirs allowed miniaturization and direct attachment between hair follicles for long-term measurements of brain activity, as displayed in Fig. 7g (ReF. ...
Electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs), capable of transducing biological and biochemical inputs into amplified electronic signals and stably operating in aqueous environments, have emerged as fundamental building blocks in bioelectronics. In this Primer, the different EGT architectures are described with the fundamental mechanisms underpinning their functional operation, providing insight into key experiments including necessary data analysis and validation. Several organic and inorganic materials used in the EGT structures and the different fabrication approaches for an optimal experimental design are presented and compared. The functional bio-layers and/or biosystems integrated into or interfaced to EGTs, including self-organization and self-assembly strategies, are reviewed. Relevant and promising applications are discussed, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional cell monitoring, ultra-sensitive biosensors, electrophysiology, synaptic and neuromorphic bio-interfaces, prosthetics and robotics. Advantages, limitations and possible optimizations are also surveyed. Finally, current issues and future directions for further developments and applications are discussed. Electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) are fundamental building blocks of bioelectronics, which transduce biological inputs to electrical signals. This Primer examines the different architectures of EGTs, their mechanism of operation and practical considerations related to their wide range of applications.
... Therefore, most LCD devices are assembled using a sandwich-like flat structure, resulting in poor adhesion, implantability, and breathability for use in garments or fabrics [34][35][36][37]. In contrast, the diameter of fibrous electronic devices is between tens of micrometers and hundreds of micrometers, which belongs to a one-dimensional structure and has the characteristics of lightweight, good flexibility, and strong weaving [38][39][40][41]. Thus, electrochromic fibrous devices can easily address the above problems and thus have recently attracted the interest of the scientific and industrial communities. ...
Smart textiles and wearable sensors based on liquid crystal materials with highly tunable and controllable discoloration are attracting attention due to their promising functionality. However, products previously reported almost relies on the extra transparent conductive electrode to provide a stable electric field and resulting in complexity and inconvenience. Besides, practical applications remain limited by the lack of continuously processed long electrochromic fibers suitable for industrial weaving. This work presents smart electrochromic liquid-crystal-clad (ECLCC) fibers with multi-environmental stability and long-range controllability that are prepared continuously using simple tailormade instruments. By introducing a variety of electrochromic materials (CLCs) and a distinctive device design (coaxial dual-counter-electrode sandwich structure), multiple rapid and uniform color changes can be achieved over a long duration. The monofilament conductive core provides ECLCC fiber with enhanced color effects without viewing angle dependence, as well as good flexibility and stretchability. The fiberized coaxial electrode structure realizes the flexible electrochromic of textiles compared to the previously parallel sandwich structure of the traditional liquid crystal display. Thus, complex textiles can be easily knitted from fibers that respond to different external electro stimuli, showed the potential applications in intelligent clothing that sense and report the healthy condition of the wearer or the situation of the surrounding environment.
... Many obstacles continue to limit the practicality of using 1D FETs for electronic circuits. One of the main issues is that 1D FETs still require sophisticated fabrication techniques that demand a vacuum process such as thermal evaporation, sputtering, or atomic layer deposition, which is unsuitable for commercialization [30]. Moreover, the high operating voltages required by OFETs, along with their low conductance values and unstable electrode interconnections, need to be resolved. ...
... In this regard, a new device design strategy has been developed for high-performance 1D FETs. Kim et al. fabricated fibrous OFETs with a twisted structure and a solid ion-gel electrolyte (Figure 2c) [30]. The source and drain (S/D) fiber electrodes were coated with an organic semiconductor and twisted together. ...
... The source and drain (S/D) fiber electrodes were coated with an organic semiconductor and twisted together. The twisted assembly of electrode fibers was then surrounded by an ion gel, and the gate wire was then wound around that [30]. The resulting fibrous OFETs achieved milliampere-level output current and a good on/off ratio of 10 5 at low gate voltages (below −1.3 V) [30]. ...
Fiber electronics is a key research area for realizing wearable microelectronic devices. Significant progress has been made in recent years in developing the geometry and composition of electronic fibers. In this review, we present that recent progress in the architecture and electrical properties of electronic fibers, including their fabrication methods. We intensively investigate the structural designs of fiber-shaped devices: coaxial, twisted, three-dimensional layer-by-layer, and woven structures. In addition, we introduce remarkable applications of fiber-shaped devices for energy harvesting/storage, sensing, and light-emitting devices. Electronic fibers offer high potential for use in next-generation electronics, such as electronic textiles and smart integrated textile systems, which require excellent deformability and high operational reliability.
... Such e-textiles usually contain sensors, actuators, internal/external communication, a power source, and finally a data processor [2]. Many of these parts were only made available during the last decades by inventions such as conductive polymers [3] or transistors, often based on one or two fine metal wires coated by an organic semiconductor [4][5][6]. Other parts, such as the data processor, cannot be transferred into textile structures, but due to steady miniaturization are more and more able to be integrated into textile structures [7]. ...
Electronic textiles belong to the broader range of smart (or "intelligent") textiles. Their "smartness" is enabled by embedded or added electronics and allows the sensing of defined parameters of their environment as well as actuating according to these sensor data. For this purpose, different sensors (e.g., temperature, strain, light sensors) and actuators (e.g., LEDs or mechanical actuators) are embedded and connected with a power supply, a data processor, and internal/external communication.
