Near-Infrared Light Triggered Self-Powered Mechano-Optical Communication System using Wearable Photodetector Textile

The merging of humans and machines depends on the contact sensor medium used. However, this contact interaction inevitably leads to mechanical loss. Photodetectors are cutting-edge tools in optical communication that use controlled lighting to achieve efficient signal conversion to drive mechano–optical communication systems and provide an innovative interface for the Internet of Things services. Here, a self-powered, non-contact mechano–optical communication system based on a wearable Te@TeSe photodetector textile is presented, which encodes near-infrared light to modulate robotic manipulator actions. The wearable Te@TeSe photodetector textile enhanced the photocurrent and responsivity by 400 times compared to a pristine Te nanowire (NW) array. The type II heterojunction of Te@TeSe NWs is proved by first-principles calculations and simulated, providing insights on photogenic carrier transmission in Te@TeSe NWs. This system shows the possibility of duplicate real-time execution of mechanical gestures in virtual environments and paves the way for advanced optical devices applied to information transmission and mechano–optical communication.