Automated Characterization System for Piezoelectric and Triboelectric Touch and Force Sensors

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and piezoelectric sensors have emerged as key technologies for self-powered sensing, wearable electronics, and human-machine interfaces. Unlike conventional resistive or capacitive sensors, these devices generate transient charge signals in response to mechanical deformation—making their characterization fundamentally more challenging. Standard benchtop equipment (function generators, oscilloscopes, source meters) is often insufficient for capturing the high-impedance, charge-based output under controlled dynamic force conditions. Furthermore, manual testing introduces irreproducibility in force magnitude, application rate, and contact area. This project aims to design, fabricate, and validate a semi-automated characterization system capable of applying controlled dynamic forces to triboelectric and piezoelectric sensors while simultaneously measuring the induced charge. The student will build a force control stage (e.g., using a linear actuator, stepper motor, or voice coil with a load cell feedback loop) and a system electrometer (or a high-impedance charge amplifier) to quantify the generated charge as a function of applied force, frequency, and contact-separation cycles. The entire measurement routine will be automated via a PC-based interface (e.g., TabView, LabVIEW, or Python with a GUI), enabling scripted force profiles, data logging, and real-time visualization. The final system will be used to characterize several existing triboelectric/piezoelectric devices, generating performance curves such as transferred charge vs. force, open-circuit voltage vs. strain rate, and sensor repeatability over thousands of cycles. This work bridges mechanical design, analog circuit design, and measurement automation

1. Automated characterization system – A benchtop setup comprising: o Force actuation mechanism (motorized linear stage or solenoid with force feedback). o Force sensor (load cell, 0–50 N range). o Custom or integrated electrometer/charge amplifier (pC–nC sensitivity). o Mechanical fixture for mounting test sensors. 2. Control and data acquisition software – A standalone application (TabView, LabVIEW, or Python + PyQt) that allows the user to set force profiles (ramp, step, cyclic), trigger measurements, and log charge/force vs. time. 3. Characterization report – Measured performance metrics (sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis, dynamic response) for at least two existing triboelectric or piezoelectric sensor samples. 4. User manual – Instructions for system operation, calibration, and sensor mounting.