Robots could ‘see’ using new electronic skin tech

Engineers at Glasgow University announced their breakthrough development, involving a new method of printing microscale semiconductors made from gallium arsenide onto a flexible plastic surface.

According to the team, their material provides performance equivalent to the best conventional photodetectors on the market, and is capable of withstanding hundreds of cycles of bending and flexing.

In a paper published in Advanced Materials Technology, researchers outlined how they developed the technology, which allows the skin to detect light from a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

It builds on previous research in which they developed a method of printing silicon circuitry directly onto the surface of flexible plastic, enabling the creation of high-performance bendable electronics.

Gallium arsenide is used in many electronic applications to create high-performance electronics. However, they have mainly been created on rigid surfaces – the Glasgow team are among the first to find a way to use gallium arsenide on a flexible substrate.

Researchers said they adapted their existing roll printing system to print gallium arsenide electronics onto a flexible surface using arrays of wires that are 15 micrometres in width. This allowed them to create a new type of flexible photodetector capable of sensing light from the ultraviolet range, through the visible portion of the spectrum, to the infrared – all of it requiring extremely low power.