Meter-scale surface capacitive type of touch sensors fabricated by weaving conductive-polymer-coated fibers

We report on surface capacitive type of touch sensor fabric for large-area electronic devices. The fibers on which conductive and dielectric polymers were coated, were woven as wefts and warps in the pitch of 5 cm. The woven fabric sensed surface capacitances between the conductive polymer-coated fibers and human fingers and then the touched point was detected. To process long fibers (>;100 m), we developed the die-coating technology applied to plastic fibers for coating conductive polymer of PEDOT:PSS and dielectric one of UV-curable adhesive. The resultant fibers were woven with automatic looming machines, forming meter-scale devices (1.2 m × 3 m). The fabricated sensor fabric was examined on the detection of human touch. Then, the sensor observed surface capacitance of about 0.5 pF by touching sensors with a human finger. Therefore, our sensor will lead to meter-scale touch sensors and input devices for various electronic devices.