Ultrasensitive Charged Object Detection Based on Rubrene Crystal Sensor

An ultrasensitive flexible organic sensor that uses the microsized rubrene crystal as the sensing element is demonstrated. The organic sensor with facile two-terminal device configuration can accurately perceive external charged objects, such as human hair, fiber cloth, plastic sheet, and paper scrap. The touch of these charged objects causes the effect of “gate” voltage of the traditional field-effect transistor, which modulates the carrier transport characteristics in the rubrene crystal. Benefiting from the unique sensing mechanism, the organic sensor is capable to resist the effect of gravity with high orientation stability. Our sensor shows a feasible route to realize the charged objects perception, making it a promising candidate for possible applications in artificial intelligence and human–machine interactive.