Soft Schottky diodes for skin-interfaced electronics enabled by entirely soft components

Abstract

Soft electronics have achieved significant development, attracting substantial interest due to their promising potential as a dominant form of future electronics. In this rapidly evolving field, the fully soft Schottky diode plays a critical role as a fundamental building block for electronic circuitry systems. These systems, constructed entirely from soft materials, can tolerate various mechanical deformations when interfaced with human skin, making them ideal for use in health monitoring systems and interactive human-machine interfaces. In this study, we introduce a Schottky diode fabricated entirely from soft materials using a facile solution process, further enabling all-printing fabrication systems. Utilizing the mechanical softness of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate-based soft electrode, poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanofibril composite soft semiconductor, and liquid metal, we successfully fabricated a fully soft Schottky diode. This diode exhibits exceptional electrical characteristics even under various mechanical deformations, showcasing the high durability of the device. We have further developed fully soft rectifiers and logic gates, highlighting the versatility of our study. By incorporating these devices with a piezoelectric nanogenerator in a skin-interfaced energy harvesting system, they exhibit sufficient capability for rectification, ensuring a stable power supply as part of a power supply management system. This approach offers substantial potential for future skin-interfaced electronics, paving the way for advanced wearable technology.