Piezoelectric Film Sensor (Picoleaf™)

Made possible by Murata Manufacturing with our unique piezoelectric technology, Picoleaf™ is a flexible and thin sensor capable of highly sensitive bending, twisting, pressing force, and vibration detection. It can be mounted in smaller spaces, is thinner than conventional sensors, and can be used to improve the assembly and durability of products.
The piezoelectric film used in "Picoleaf™" is made from polylactic acid bound with lactic acid made from fermented starch extracted from plant tissue. Plants synthesize starch by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, so producing this carbon neutral material does not increase the total amount of carbon dioxide (which causes global warming) in the atmosphere.

Corporate Press Releases
What is Picoleaf™?
Key features
Applications
Standard product samples and evaluation sample kits
Technical Reference

Corporate Press Releases

09/06/2023

Murata Partners with SIXPAD: New Product “SIXPAD Health Grip” to Feature Murata’s Piezoelectric Film Sensor “Picoleaf”

What is Picoleaf™?

Picoleaf™ is a flexible and thin piezoelectric film sensor that can detect bending, twisting, pressing force, and vibrations. This is made possible by Murata Manufacturing with our unique piezoelectric technology.

Introducing a Flexible Piezoelectric Film Sensor Capable of Detecting
Bending, Twisting, Pressing Force, and Vibrations (Picoleaf™)

We explain in detail on the page below about the particulars of piezoelectric film and the operating principles of Picoleaf™.

Key features

Thin sensor: Can be used in a small space even when combined with a display or touch panel because it has a structure with a thickness of 0.2 mm or less. We have realized an ultra-small form with a size of 2.5 × 7.0 mm.
Flexible structure: Can even be attached along the curved surfaces of devices and other equipment with a high level of design that have such curves. Can also handle special shapes. For example, it can be wrapped around cylinders.
Can also be used in user interfaces in wet areas: Can detect pressing force in wet areas and underwater. This means it can be used in devices that use water such as washing machines.
Can also be used in metal casing: Can realize seamless buttons in metal casing.
Highly sensitive: Can detect microscopic displacement to the 1 µm level. A single sensor can detect pressing pressure across the entire surface of a display.
Moreover, it can even be used for detecting tremors^*1 (involuntary muscle movements), gripping^*2, and biosignals such as pulsation.
Non-pyroelectric^*3: There is no drift due to heat generated by body temperature, sunlight, or semiconductors and other components. Therefore, the generation of noise by heat is suppressed.
Low power consumption: The power consumption of the sensor alone is 0. It is also possible to design the amplifier circuit for driving with a low current consumption (about 10 uA).
Eco materials: Picoleaf™ uses an environmentally friendly organic piezoelectric film whose raw material is plant-derived polylactic acid. It is a carbon-neutral material that does not increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere during its life cycle of manufacturing, disposal, and decomposition. This means that it contributes to the realization of the SDGs. Furthermore, it is a lead-free product that complies with the European RoHS Directive.

*1tremors: Involuntary rhythmical trembling of parts of the body, such as the hands, head, or legs.
*2gripping: The state where an object is being held firmly.
*3Non-pyroelectric: A physical property of a substance where changes in temperature do not cause polarization.

Download product datasheet

Applications

Detecting pressing force

Its pressing force detection characteristics allow Picoleaf to be used as a UI sensor.
When installed on a stylus pen, Picoleaf can detect if the pen is being held by a person.
It can differentiate between being pressed or merely touched, and this capability can be used to reduce erroneous operation.

Detecting biosignals

Piezoelectric film sensors are highly sensitive and can be used as a sensor for detecting "pulsation and respiration" biosignals.
An example of detecting pulsation at the fingertip is shown below.

Murata is working with individuals at specialized institutions on joint research on detecting biosignals, and has published the following journal articles.

International academic society

Pressure-based Detection of Heart and Respiratory Rates from Human Body Surface using a Biodegradable Piezoelectric Sensor
Ziqiang Xu, Akira Furui, Shumma Jomyo, Toshiki Sakagawa, Masanori Morita, Tsutomu Takai, Masamichi Ando, and Toshio Tsuji
Proceedings of 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC’21), pp. 5415–5418, Virtual Conference due to COVID-19, Nov 1–5, 2021.

Link

International academic journal

Beat-to-beat Estimation of Peripheral Arterial Stiffness from Local PWV for Quantitative Evaluation of Sympathetic Nervous System Activity
Ziqiang Xu, Toshiki Sakagawa, Akira Furui, Shumma Jomyo, Masanori Morita, Masamichi Ando, and Toshio Tsuji
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/TBME.2022.3154398, Date of publication: 25 February 2022 (SCI, IF=4.538)

Link

International academic journal

Toward a Robust Estimation of Respiratory Rate using Cardiovascular Biomarkers_Robustness Analysis under Pain Stimulation
Ziqiang Xu, Toshiki Sakagawa, Akira Furui, Shumma Jomyo, Masanori Morita, Masamichi Ando, and Toshio Tsuji
IEEE Sensors Journal, doi: 10.1109/JSEN.2022.3165880. Date of publication: 08 April 2022

Link

Standard product samples and evaluation sample kits

We can provide samples of standard products and evaluation sample kits.
Please see the "Where to Buy / Distributor Inventory" page for details on the Picoleaf™ installation process and samples.

Where to Buy / Distributor Inventory

Technical Reference

Basics and principles of operation

Avoiding Counterfeit Products

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