Multimodal Strain-Insensitive Liquid Metal Sheath-Core Fiber for Wearable Electronics

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Wearable electronics require highly conductive and strain-insensitive conductors for reliable signal transmission.
• Maintaining conductivity and stability under dynamic multimodal strains in wearable devices remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a liquid metal fiber conductor that addresses the limitations of current technologies in wearable electronics.
• To create a stable and highly conductive fiber capable of withstanding diverse mechanical deformations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a prestretch-induced self-coiling mechanism to engineer a liquid metal core-sheath fiber.
• Integrated a microhelix conductive pathway within the fiber structure.
• Tested the fiber's conductivity and resistance stability under various mechanical deformations (stretching, bending, pressing, twisting).

Main Results:

• Achieved a high initial conductivity of 7.21 × 10⁴ S/m.
• Demonstrated remarkable resistance stability with a change rate below 0.8% under multimodal strains.
• Successfully embroidered the fiber onto commercial garments for practical application testing.

Conclusions:

• The developed liquid metal fiber (H-LM fiber) offers a robust and highly conductive solution for wearable electronics.
• The fiber's stability under strain enables reliable power delivery and sensing signal transmission in dynamic conditions.
• Presents a highly advantageous solution for the advancement of digital garments.