High-sensitivity, fast-response flexible pressure sensor for electronic skin using direct writing printing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Bionic electronic skin mimics human sensory capabilities, finding applications in healthcare, wearables, and prosthetics.
• High-performance tactile pressure sensing in electronic skin demands sensitivity, resolution, and rapid response.
• Challenges remain in detecting wide pressure ranges and fabricating sensitive microstructures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a direct-write printing method for fabricating flexible pressure sensors for electronic skin.
• To optimize printing parameters for sensitive unit microstructures.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed pressure sensors.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of graphene nanoplatelets/multi-walled carbon nanotube (GNPs/MWCNT) filled conductive composite flexible pressure sensors on PDMS substrates using direct-write printing based on the Weissenberg principle.
• Orthogonal experiments to investigate the effects of platform moving speed, microneedle rotation speed, and printing times on line width.
• Performance testing of the S-shaped polyline pressure sensor.

Main Results:

• Optimal direct-write printing parameters were determined.
• The S-shaped polyline pressure sensor achieved a sensitivity of 0.164 kPa⁻¹.
• Response and recovery times were recorded at 100 ms each.
• Demonstrated excellent sensitivity, stability, and fast response in capturing objects of varying quality and surfaces.

Conclusions:

• The direct-write printing method successfully fabricated high-performance flexible pressure sensors.
• The developed sensors exhibit promising characteristics for electronic skin applications.
• This work advances the integration of electronic skin in smart robotics and prosthetic solutions.