Large-Area 2D Metasurface-Based Triboelectric E-Skin Arrays: Contact & Proximity Tactile Mapping with Broadband Acoustic Readouts

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Injamamul Arief - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Swagato Sarkar - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Anik Kumar Ghosh - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Osvalds Verners - , Riga Technical University (Author)
  • Kamal Kumar Meena - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Su Hyeong Lee - , Korea University of Technology and Education (Author)
  • Soosang Chae - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Korea University of Technology and Education (Author)
  • Tobias A.F. König - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Beate Krause - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , Chair of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Mehmet Sait Özer - , Chair of Acoustics and Haptics (Author)
  • Anindya Nag - , Clusters of Excellence CeTI: Centre for Tactile Internet, Junior Professorship in Haptic Sensors (Author)
  • Amit Das - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Recent advances in electromechanically coupled, self-powered, flexible transducer-enabled electronic skins are predominantly driven by the capacitive triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which operate intrinsically as multifunctional sensor-cum-energy harvester. The resulting TENG's operability in cutting-edge wearable technologies can be significantly augmented by introducing 2D dielectric metasurfaces, which optimize functionality through enhanced electromechanical coupling. Here, we introduce a 2D metasurface-TENG e-skin that unifies tactile (contact and inductive) and acoustic sensing in a single ultrathin platform. Large-area nanocone (NC) metasurfaces are engineered on 100 µm polydimethoxysilane (PDMS) films via laser-interference lithography (LIL) and soft molding, which boosts triboelectric charge density and provides optical diffraction cues for strain monitoring. Integrated into a 3 × 3 array, the device delivers real-time tactile pressure imaging with low crosstalk and non-contact proximity detection. The NC-TENG patch also functions as a self-powered acoustic sensor, in which the sound pressure level (SPL) and frequency response are quantified in both spatial and spectral domains over a broad frequency range (∼50–6400 Hz). Compared to pristine PDMS, the metasurface enhances open-circuit voltage by ≈46% under identical loading and sustains stable electrical output. By coupling electromechanical and electro-acoustic transductions with metasurface optics, this work advances multimodal, arrayed e-skins for next-generation human-machine interfaces and wearable sensing.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere21525
JournalAdvanced materials
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Feb 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-7244-3503/work/207307248

Keywords

Keywords

  • acoustic sensing, dielectric metasurfaces, human-machine interaction, proximity recognition, triboelectric nanogenerators