Ferroelectric/piezoelectric flexible mechanical energy harvesters and stretchable epidermal sensors for medical applications

Multifunctional sensing capability, ‘unusual’ formats with flexible/stretchable designs, rugged lightweight construction, and self-powered operation are desired attributes for electronics that directly interface with the human body. The collective results in this dissertation suggest utility in a variety of sensors and energy harvesting components, with lightweight construction, attractive mechanical properties and potential for implementation over large areas, with promising application in unusual bio-integrated electronics, such as self-powered cardiac pacemakers, skin-mounted blood pressure sensors, modulus sensors and skin cancer detection bio-patches. For these and related applications, unusual electronics provide the capability of intimate and conformal integration with a variety of substrates on biological tissues. These systems can be twisted, folded, stretched/flexed and wrapped onto curviliniar surfaces without damage or significant alteration in operation. In this dissertation, the application of ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials and patterning techniques for ‘unusual’ electronics, with an emphasis on bio-integrated systems were demonstrated. Overall, the results suggest that the various sensor capabilities could be valuable for a range of applications in continuous self-powered health/wellness monitoring and clinical medicine