Bai Ningning, Wang Liu, Wang Qi, Deng Jue, Wang Yan, Lu Peng, Huang Jun, Li Gang, Zhang Yuan, Yang Junlong, Xie Kewei, Zhao Xuanhe, Guo Chuan Fei
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Centers for Mechanical Engineering Research and Education at MIT and SUSTech, Southern University of Science and Technology, 518055, Shenzhen, China.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 10;11(1):209. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-14054-9.
Sensitivity is a crucial parameter for flexible pressure sensors and electronic skins. While introducing microstructures (e.g., micro-pyramids) can effectively improve the sensitivity, it in turn leads to a limited pressure-response range due to the poor structural compressibility. Here, we report a strategy of engineering intrafillable microstructures that can significantly boost the sensitivity while simultaneously broadening the pressure responding range. Such intrafillable microstructures feature undercuts and grooves that accommodate deformed surface microstructures, effectively enhancing the structural compressibility and the pressure-response range. The intrafillable iontronic sensor exhibits an unprecedentedly high sensitivity (S > 220 kPa) over a broad pressure regime (0.08 Pa-360 kPa), and an ultrahigh pressure resolution (18 Pa or 0.0056%) over the full pressure range, together with remarkable mechanical stability. The intrafillable structure is a general design expected to be applied to other types of sensors to achieve a broader pressure-response range and a higher sensitivity.
灵敏度是柔性压力传感器和电子皮肤的关键参数。虽然引入微观结构（如微金字塔）可以有效提高灵敏度，但由于结构可压缩性差，这反过来又导致压力响应范围有限。在此，我们报道了一种构建可内部填充微观结构的策略，该策略可以显著提高灵敏度，同时拓宽压力响应范围。这种可内部填充的微观结构具有底切和凹槽，可容纳变形的表面微观结构，有效增强结构可压缩性和压力响应范围。这种可内部填充的离子电子传感器在宽压力范围（0.08 Pa - 360 kPa）内表现出前所未有的高灵敏度（S > 220 kPa），在整个压力范围内具有超高的压力分辨率（18 Pa或0.0056%），以及出色的机械稳定性。这种可内部填充结构是一种通用设计，有望应用于其他类型的传感器，以实现更宽的压力响应范围和更高的灵敏度。
