Background
D-Dot electric-field sensors use conducting transducers designed to measure the rate of change over time in electric displacement over a wide frequency spectrum. D-Dot electric field sensors are based on the principle of charge induction, where a changing electric field results in a small current to be induced on the transducer. At low frequencies, the conductivity does not have to be very high, so other (non-metallic) conductors can be used.
Traditional D-Dot sensors use a metallic plate as a transducer, and the change in the charge with time is monitored. The lack of transparency prevents them from being used with optically-sensitive layers in a stack. This is because the D-Dot charge collect plate must be on top, blocking light from optical sensors, solar cells, or other optically-sensitive layers.
Therefore, the development of a transparent D-Dot sensor based on transparent conductive films allows for the combination of D-Dot sensors with solar panels (or other optical sensitive devices) in a stack. Stacking increases the sensitivity of the sensor and also increases the power that can be harvested with a solar panel, as the performance of both devices is proportional to their area.
Invention Description
Researchers at Arizona State University and the Army Research Laboratory have developed a transparent, flexible D-dot electric field sensor that uses optically transparent and conductive materials to determine the changes in the electric-field signals. The optical transparency of this sensor enables new applications and sensor system designs, where optically active materials can be stacked below the sensor, reducing the overall surface area and making a more compact and/or higher-performing design.
Potential Applications:
- Medical field- electrical field sensors for EKGs and optical (e.g., O2) sensors
- Military- sensor systems that rely on energy harvesting
Benefits and Advantages:
- Compact design by reducing surface area
- Higher-performing sensors for a given surface area.
- Thin, flexible, and low weight
- Transparent, conductive films for the D-dot sensor
- Ability to stack D-dots with solar panel or other photosensitive layers underneath them that still preform at 80% of what they would without the D-Dot above them