Chen Rui, Luo Tao, Wang Jincheng, Wang Renpeng, Zhang Chen, Xie Yu, Qin Lifeng, Yao Haimin, Zhou Wei
Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 20;14(1):6641. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42361-9.
Flexible pressure sensors are indispensable components in various applications such as intelligent robots and wearable devices, whereas developing flexible pressure sensors with both high sensitivity and wide linear range remains a great challenge. Here, we present an elegant strategy to address this challenge by taking advantage of a pyramidal carbon foam array as the sensing layer and an elastomer spacer as the stiffness regulator, realizing an unprecedentedly high sensitivity of 24.6 kPa and an ultra-wide linear range of 1.4 MPa together. Such a wide range of linearity is attributed to the synergy between the nonlinear piezoresistivity of the sensing layer and the nonlinear elasticity of the stiffness regulator. The great application potential of our sensor in robotic manipulation, healthcare monitoring, and human-machine interface is demonstrated. Our design strategy can be extended to the other types of flexible sensors calling for both high sensitivity and wide-range linearity, facilitating the development of high-performance flexible pressure sensors for intelligent robotics and wearable devices.
柔性压力传感器是智能机器人和可穿戴设备等各种应用中不可或缺的组件，然而，开发兼具高灵敏度和宽线性范围的柔性压力传感器仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在此，我们提出了一种巧妙的策略来应对这一挑战，即利用金字塔形碳泡沫阵列作为传感层，弹性体间隔层作为刚度调节器，实现了高达24.6 kPa的前所未有的高灵敏度和1.4 MPa的超宽线性范围。如此宽的线性范围归因于传感层的非线性压阻效应和刚度调节器的非线性弹性之间的协同作用。我们展示了该传感器在机器人操作、医疗监测和人机界面方面的巨大应用潜力。我们的设计策略可以扩展到其他需要高灵敏度和宽范围线性度的柔性传感器类型，有助于为智能机器人和可穿戴设备开发高性能柔性压力传感器。
