Abstract
A series of devices with the structure of ITO\poly(methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phyenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV):fullerene (C60, 0 ~ 60 wt%)\Al were fabricated and measured. It is found that the device with 20 wt% C60 concentration exhibited an optimized performance for the role of piezoresistive sensing. The piezoresistive coefficient showed 0.12 ~ 0.32 Pa−1 in the pressure range of 0 ~ 396 kPa. We measured the 20 wt% C60-doped MEH-PPV film using a nanoindentation tester with a flat punch and obtained its Young’s modulus at equilibrium state (E0) to be ~ 170 MPa. The present work shows that a proper amount of fullerene doped in MEH-PPV film would improve the conductivity of the film, thus leading an enhanced working current density, increasing the current signal for sensing the applied stress, while the necessary elasticity or resilience of the films are maintained. The device performance is optimized through changing the C60 doping concentration to be 20 wt%, approaching a good balance of elasticity and conductivity. Therefore, the device shows a better general performance than the undoped device, exhibiting a better prospect for tactile sensing.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 51373036 (Gaoyu Zhong) and the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China under Grant 61704107 (Yijie Xia).
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Xia, Y., Wu, L., Li, S. et al. The piezoresistive performances of the devices with fullerene-doped MEH-PPV films. Microsyst Technol 27, 2661–2670 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-020-05039-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-020-05039-6