Green Motion Sensors: Graphene-based Eco-Friendly Micro Accelerometers

Description

Carbon is the basis for life on Earth so there is a certain sense of symmetry that graphene, a novel two dimensional form of carbon that is only one atomic layer thick, has enabled recent advances in significantly improving the sensitivity of physical, chemical, and biological sensing devices. In this project, our team will explore the possibility of integrating graphene onto eco-friendly flexible substrates to create low-cost and potentially bio-degradable sensors that have potential applications in the biomedical and electronics device industries. By the end of this project, we will demonstrate specifically a motion sensor that senses accelerations and environmental vibrations with an input power in the range of picoWatts (i.e., 1 picoWatt is approximately the level of power consumption for a human cell). Electrokinetics-based nano-assembly will be used to rapidly integrate graphene onto flexible and eco-friendly printed circuit substrates, and a haptically-interfaced atomic force microscope will be used trim the graphene sensing elements in order to control the electrical characteristics and responsivity of these motion sensors. We envision that the successful development of such a graphene-based and eco-friendly sensing device will eventually bring a paradigm shift in enabling novel, practical applications for motion sensing technology in the global biomedical and electronic industries.