Self-powered ultraflexible photonic skin for continuous bio-signal detection via air-operation-stable polymer light-emitting diodes

Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 14;12(1):2234. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22558-6.

Abstract

Ultraflexible optical devices have been used extensively in next-generation wearable electronics owing to their excellent conformability to human skins. Long-term health monitoring also requires the integration of ultraflexible optical devices with an energy-harvesting power source; to make devices self-powered. However, system-level integration of ultraflexible optical sensors with power sources is challenging because of insufficient air operational stability of ultraflexible polymer light-emitting diodes. Here we develop an ultraflexible self-powered organic optical system for photoplethysmogram monitoring by combining air-operation-stable polymer light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells, and organic photodetectors. Adopting an inverted structure and a doped polyethylenimine ethoxylated layer, ultraflexible polymer light-emitting diodes retain 70% of the initial luminance even after 11.3 h of operation under air. Also, integrated optical sensors exhibit a high linearity with the light intensity exponent of 0.98 by polymer light-emitting diode. Such self-powered, ultraflexible photoplethysmogram sensors perform monitoring of blood pulse signals as 77 beats per minute.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electric Power Supplies
  • Equipment Design
  • Heart Rate
  • Humans
  • Light
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / instrumentation*
  • Monitoring, Physiologic / methods
  • Optical Devices
  • Photons
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Solar Energy
  • Wearable Electronic Devices*

Substances

  • Polymers