The Leibniz Institute in Jena, the Philipps University of Marburg and Brown University in the USA have jointly developed a method for precisely measuring the electrical conductivity of thin layers on smart textiles. This allows coatings to be analysed without contact and material defects to be quickly identified. The results have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Marburg, September 26th, 2024. Networking through textiles using sensors or energy sources on clothing is becoming increasingly important. Such innovations, which are being developed at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, include energy-converting solar fabrics, thermoelectric generators, optical thermal sensors and cooling materials. Coatings with a thickness of just a few nanometres are applied evenly over flexible and uneven textile fabrics. The particular challenge lies in applying these evenly so that the functions can be guaranteed.

Philips University Marburg uses a terahertz-based method to measure the conductivity of these wafer-thin layers precisely, contactlessly and with spatial resolution. ‘Terahertz radiation lies in the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwave radiation,’ explains Alexander Jäckel, PhD student at Philips University Marburg. Its interaction with the materials provides valuable information about their structure and electrical properties.

‘The method gives us a detailed insight into the quality of coatings on textiles that can be used as smart clothing in areas such as health monitoring, energy conversion or safety equipment. This helps to optimise the production of such textiles,’ explains working group leader Dr Jonathan Plentz from Leibniz IPHT.

The research teams tested the method on two materials: silver and indium tin oxide (ITO). Both are frequently used as conductive and transparent coatings on textiles.

The knowledge gained could drive the development of more durable and reliable smart textiles. Great progress could be made in medical technology and in the field of protective clothing in particular. Other sectors such as the automotive industry or the wearables sector could also benefit from this technology. The method enables fast and reliable quality control in the development of sensors and flexible circuits on textiles.

The researchers plan to further develop the technology in order to use it for industrial real-time quality control of smart textiles.

Originalpublication:

Jäckel, A., Hupfer, M.L., Castro-Camus, E. et al. Terahertz conductivity mapping of thin films on smart textiles. Sci Rep 14, 22029 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73113-4

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