title: Mechanical-electrical triggers and sensors using piezoelectric micowires/nanowires.
abstract: We demonstrate a mechanical-electrical trigger using a ZnO piezoelectric fine-wire (PFW) (microwire, nanowire). Once subjected to mechanical impact, a bent PFW creates a voltage drop across its width, with the tensile and compressive surfaces showing positive and negative voltages, respectively. The voltage and current created by the piezoelectric effect could trigger an external electronic system, thus, the impact force/pressure can be detected. The response time of the trigger/sensor is approximately 10 ms. The piezoelectric potential across the PFW has a lifetime of approximately 100 s, which is long enough for effectively "gating" the transport current along the wire; thus a piezoelectric field effect transistor is possible based on the piezotronic effect.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yudong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Zhong Lin
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Wang