Conductive patterned metal films bonded to compliant elastomeric substrates form meshes which enable flexible electronic interconnects for various applications. However, while bottom-up deposition of thin films by sputtering or growth is well-developed for rigid electronics, maintaining good electrical conductivity in sub-micron thin metal films upon large deformations or cyclic loading remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose a strategy to improve the electromechanical performance of nanometer-thin palladium films by in-situ synthesis of a conformal graphene coating using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The uniform graphene coverage improves the thin film’s damage tolerance, electro-mechanical fatigue, and fracture toughness owing to the high stiffness of graphene and the conformal CVD-grown graphene-metal interface. Graphene-coated Pd thin film interconnects exhibit stable increase in electrical resistance even when strained beyond 60% and longer fatigue life up to a strain range of 20%. The effect of graphene is more significant for thinner films of < 300 nm, particularly at high strains. The experimental observations are well described by the thin film electro-fragmentation model and the Coffin-Manson relationship. These findings demonstrate the potential of CVD-grown graphene nanocomposite materials in improving the damage tolerance and electromechanical robustness of flexible electronics. The proposed approach offers opportunities for the development of reliable and high-performance ultra-conformable flexible electronic devices.
{"title":"Ultrathin damage-tolerant flexible metal interconnects reinforced by in-situ graphene synthesis","authors":"Kaihao Zhang, Mitisha Surana, Jad Yaacoub, Sameh Tawfick","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00300-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00300-8","url":null,"abstract":"Conductive patterned metal films bonded to compliant elastomeric substrates form meshes which enable flexible electronic interconnects for various applications. However, while bottom-up deposition of thin films by sputtering or growth is well-developed for rigid electronics, maintaining good electrical conductivity in sub-micron thin metal films upon large deformations or cyclic loading remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose a strategy to improve the electromechanical performance of nanometer-thin palladium films by in-situ synthesis of a conformal graphene coating using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The uniform graphene coverage improves the thin film’s damage tolerance, electro-mechanical fatigue, and fracture toughness owing to the high stiffness of graphene and the conformal CVD-grown graphene-metal interface. Graphene-coated Pd thin film interconnects exhibit stable increase in electrical resistance even when strained beyond 60% and longer fatigue life up to a strain range of 20%. The effect of graphene is more significant for thinner films of < 300 nm, particularly at high strains. The experimental observations are well described by the thin film electro-fragmentation model and the Coffin-Manson relationship. These findings demonstrate the potential of CVD-grown graphene nanocomposite materials in improving the damage tolerance and electromechanical robustness of flexible electronics. The proposed approach offers opportunities for the development of reliable and high-performance ultra-conformable flexible electronic devices.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00300-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140066612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-07DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00302-6
Hwajoong Kim, Hyunbin Na, Seungbeom Noh, Shinwon Chang, Jinho Kim, Taejune Kong, Gyowook Shin, Chankyu Lee, Seonggyu Lee, Yong-Lae Park, Sehoon Oh, Jaehong Lee
For the accurate and continuous control of soft actuators in dynamic environments, the movements of the soft actuators must be monitored in real-time. To this end, various soft actuators capable of self-monitoring have been developed by separately integrating sensing devices into actuators. However, integrating such heterogeneous sensing components into soft actuators results in structural complexity, high manufacturing costs, and poor interfacial stability. Here, we report on intelligent pneumatic fiber-reinforced soft actuators with an inherent flexible proprioceptive sensor that uses only the essential components of typical fiber-reinforced soft actuators. The inherent flexible proprioceptive sensor is achieved by leveraging two parallel conductive microfibers around an elastomeric chamber of the soft actuator, which simultaneously acts as both a capacitive bending sensor and radial expansion limiting fibers of typical fiber-reinforced soft actuators. The proprioceptive soft actuator exhibits excellent mechanical actuation up to 240° bending motion and proprioceptive sensing performance with high sensitivity of 1.2 pF rad−1. Mathematical analysis and simulations of the soft actuator can effectively predict the bending actuation and capacitive responses against input pressures. We demonstrate that proprioceptive soft actuators can be used to construct a soft gripping system and prosthetic hand which express various hand gestures and perform dexterous manipulation with real-time proprioceptive sensing capability.
{"title":"Inherently integrated microfiber-based flexible proprioceptive sensor for feedback-controlled soft actuators","authors":"Hwajoong Kim, Hyunbin Na, Seungbeom Noh, Shinwon Chang, Jinho Kim, Taejune Kong, Gyowook Shin, Chankyu Lee, Seonggyu Lee, Yong-Lae Park, Sehoon Oh, Jaehong Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00302-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00302-6","url":null,"abstract":"For the accurate and continuous control of soft actuators in dynamic environments, the movements of the soft actuators must be monitored in real-time. To this end, various soft actuators capable of self-monitoring have been developed by separately integrating sensing devices into actuators. However, integrating such heterogeneous sensing components into soft actuators results in structural complexity, high manufacturing costs, and poor interfacial stability. Here, we report on intelligent pneumatic fiber-reinforced soft actuators with an inherent flexible proprioceptive sensor that uses only the essential components of typical fiber-reinforced soft actuators. The inherent flexible proprioceptive sensor is achieved by leveraging two parallel conductive microfibers around an elastomeric chamber of the soft actuator, which simultaneously acts as both a capacitive bending sensor and radial expansion limiting fibers of typical fiber-reinforced soft actuators. The proprioceptive soft actuator exhibits excellent mechanical actuation up to 240° bending motion and proprioceptive sensing performance with high sensitivity of 1.2 pF rad−1. Mathematical analysis and simulations of the soft actuator can effectively predict the bending actuation and capacitive responses against input pressures. We demonstrate that proprioceptive soft actuators can be used to construct a soft gripping system and prosthetic hand which express various hand gestures and perform dexterous manipulation with real-time proprioceptive sensing capability.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00302-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140063865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developing strain sensors with both high sensitivity and high linearity has always been the goal of researchers. Compared to resistive strain sensors, capacitive strain sensors have incomparable linearity advantages, but have always been limited by low sensitivity. Here, we report a gradient stiffness sliding design strategy that addresses this problem, significantly improving sensitivity while maintaining high linearity. By controlling the distribution of the locally enhanced electric field and the heterogeneous deformation of the substrate, a strain sensor with excellent performance is successfully prepared, exhibiting a giant gauge factor (9.1 × 106) and linearity (R2 = 0.9997) over the entire sensing range, together with almost no hysteresis and fast response time (17 ms). The gradient stiffness sliding design is a general strategy expected to be applied to other types of sensors to achieve ultra-high sensitivity and ultra-high linearity at the same time.
{"title":"Ultra-sensitive, highly linear, and hysteresis-free strain sensors enabled by gradient stiffness sliding strategy","authors":"Fuhua Xue, Qingyu Peng, Renjie Ding, Pengyang Li, Xu Zhao, Haowen Zheng, Liangliang Xu, Zhigong Tang, Xinxing Zhang, Xiaodong He","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00301-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00301-7","url":null,"abstract":"Developing strain sensors with both high sensitivity and high linearity has always been the goal of researchers. Compared to resistive strain sensors, capacitive strain sensors have incomparable linearity advantages, but have always been limited by low sensitivity. Here, we report a gradient stiffness sliding design strategy that addresses this problem, significantly improving sensitivity while maintaining high linearity. By controlling the distribution of the locally enhanced electric field and the heterogeneous deformation of the substrate, a strain sensor with excellent performance is successfully prepared, exhibiting a giant gauge factor (9.1 × 106) and linearity (R2 = 0.9997) over the entire sensing range, together with almost no hysteresis and fast response time (17 ms). The gradient stiffness sliding design is a general strategy expected to be applied to other types of sensors to achieve ultra-high sensitivity and ultra-high linearity at the same time.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00301-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140053264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-05DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00292-5
Doyoung Kim, Seung Won Seon, Minkyung Shin, Jihwan Kim, Bogeun Kim, Janghoon Joo, Sang Uk Park, Wooseok Kim, Hee Kyu Lee, Byeong Woon Lee, Se Gi Lee, Su Eon Lee, Ji-Hun Seo, Seung Ho Han, Bong Hoon Kim, Sang Min Won
Achieving optimal camouflage in an aquatic environment necessitates the ability to modulate transmittance in response to the surrounding obscurity and potential threats. This adaptation involves a dynamic transition from transparency to a deep-blue color, especially in low-light or dark situations. Such a strategy promotes a seamless assimilation with the surroundings, enabling the absorption of searchlights and, subsequently, diminishing the risk of detection by predators. Therefore, the presence of sophisticated mechanisms that facilitates stable and efficient control of transmittance is imperative, enabling smooth transition between transparent and deep-blue hues within the aquatic environment. This study presents nature-inspired programmable camouflage system that integrates an electrochromic display as the primary transmittance change element and a wireless base module for power and data transmission. Such technology offers a robust and flexible construction, ensuring stable operation as demonstrated through mechanical-fatigue experiments and quantitative simulation. A custom circuit and a power-control software package enable active control of multiple electrochromic displays while submerged in water.
{"title":"Squid-inspired and wirelessly controllable display for active camouflage in aquatic-environment","authors":"Doyoung Kim, Seung Won Seon, Minkyung Shin, Jihwan Kim, Bogeun Kim, Janghoon Joo, Sang Uk Park, Wooseok Kim, Hee Kyu Lee, Byeong Woon Lee, Se Gi Lee, Su Eon Lee, Ji-Hun Seo, Seung Ho Han, Bong Hoon Kim, Sang Min Won","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00292-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00292-5","url":null,"abstract":"Achieving optimal camouflage in an aquatic environment necessitates the ability to modulate transmittance in response to the surrounding obscurity and potential threats. This adaptation involves a dynamic transition from transparency to a deep-blue color, especially in low-light or dark situations. Such a strategy promotes a seamless assimilation with the surroundings, enabling the absorption of searchlights and, subsequently, diminishing the risk of detection by predators. Therefore, the presence of sophisticated mechanisms that facilitates stable and efficient control of transmittance is imperative, enabling smooth transition between transparent and deep-blue hues within the aquatic environment. This study presents nature-inspired programmable camouflage system that integrates an electrochromic display as the primary transmittance change element and a wireless base module for power and data transmission. Such technology offers a robust and flexible construction, ensuring stable operation as demonstrated through mechanical-fatigue experiments and quantitative simulation. A custom circuit and a power-control software package enable active control of multiple electrochromic displays while submerged in water.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00292-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140030060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stretchable electronics are of huge interest as they can be useful in various irregular non-planar or deformable surfaces including human bodies. High density multi-functional stretchable electronics are beneficial as they can be reliably used in more compact regions. However, simply stacking multiple layers may increase induced strain, reducing degree of stretchability. Here, we present the design approach for the stretchable multilayer electronics that provide a similar degree of stretchability compare to a single layer electronics although the multilayer electronics are in much more compact form. We provide experimental and computational analyses for the benefits of the approach along with demonstrations with compact form of the multi-functional stretchable implantable bio-electronics and of the stretchable multilayer passive matrix LEDs array. The results presented here should be useful for a wide range of applications that require stretchable high-density electronics.
可拉伸电子器件可用于包括人体在内的各种不规则非平面或可变形表面，因此备受关注。高密度多功能可拉伸电子器件可以在更紧凑的区域内可靠地使用，因此非常有益。然而，简单地堆叠多层可能会增加诱导应变，降低可拉伸程度。在此，我们介绍了可拉伸多层电子元件的设计方法，这种电子元件与单层电子元件相比具有相似的可拉伸性，但多层电子元件的结构更为紧凑。我们对该方法的优点进行了实验和计算分析，并展示了紧凑型多功能可拉伸植入式生物电子器件和可拉伸多层无源矩阵 LED 阵列。本文介绍的结果将有助于需要可拉伸高密度电子器件的广泛应用。
{"title":"Multilayer stretchable electronics with designs enabling a compact lateral form","authors":"Dongwuk Jung, Hunpyo Ju, Sungbum Cho, Taeyeon Lee, Changeui Hong, Jongho Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00299-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00299-y","url":null,"abstract":"Stretchable electronics are of huge interest as they can be useful in various irregular non-planar or deformable surfaces including human bodies. High density multi-functional stretchable electronics are beneficial as they can be reliably used in more compact regions. However, simply stacking multiple layers may increase induced strain, reducing degree of stretchability. Here, we present the design approach for the stretchable multilayer electronics that provide a similar degree of stretchability compare to a single layer electronics although the multilayer electronics are in much more compact form. We provide experimental and computational analyses for the benefits of the approach along with demonstrations with compact form of the multi-functional stretchable implantable bio-electronics and of the stretchable multilayer passive matrix LEDs array. The results presented here should be useful for a wide range of applications that require stretchable high-density electronics.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00299-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139916801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-20DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00298-z
Yifan Deng, Fan Bu, Yujie Wang, Pei Song Chee, Xiangye Liu, Cao Guan
Pursuit of improved living quality has stimulated great demand for high-performance conformal healthcare devices in modern human society. However, manufacturing of efficient, comfortable and stretchable biomedical apparatus faces huge challenges using traditional materials. Liquid metals (LMs) show remarkable potential to solve this problem due to their extraordinary biocompatibility, stretchability, thermal and electrical conductivity. In recent years, tremendous explorations have attempted to make stretchable biomedical devices with LMs. Herein, we review the stretchable LM-based biomedical devices on the topics of disease treatment and human function augmenting. The representative and up-to-date neural interfaces, alloy cement, e-vessels, soft heaters, exoskeletons, and e-skins are summarized. The existing issues of LMs applied for biomedical devices are also discussed. This review can provide guidance for the follow-up research in LM-based biomedical devices.
{"title":"Stretchable liquid metal based biomedical devices","authors":"Yifan Deng, Fan Bu, Yujie Wang, Pei Song Chee, Xiangye Liu, Cao Guan","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00298-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00298-z","url":null,"abstract":"Pursuit of improved living quality has stimulated great demand for high-performance conformal healthcare devices in modern human society. However, manufacturing of efficient, comfortable and stretchable biomedical apparatus faces huge challenges using traditional materials. Liquid metals (LMs) show remarkable potential to solve this problem due to their extraordinary biocompatibility, stretchability, thermal and electrical conductivity. In recent years, tremendous explorations have attempted to make stretchable biomedical devices with LMs. Herein, we review the stretchable LM-based biomedical devices on the topics of disease treatment and human function augmenting. The representative and up-to-date neural interfaces, alloy cement, e-vessels, soft heaters, exoskeletons, and e-skins are summarized. The existing issues of LMs applied for biomedical devices are also discussed. This review can provide guidance for the follow-up research in LM-based biomedical devices.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00298-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139908945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-10DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00297-0
Jinwoo Lee, Kangkyu Kwon, Ira Soltis, Jared Matthews, Yoon Jae Lee, Hojoong Kim, Lissette Romero, Nathan Zavanelli, Youngjin Kwon, Shinjae Kwon, Jimin Lee, Yewon Na, Sung Hoon Lee, Ki Jun Yu, Minoru Shinohara, Frank L. Hammond, Woon-Hong Yeo
The age and stroke-associated decline in musculoskeletal strength degrades the ability to perform daily human tasks using the upper extremities. Here, we introduce an intelligent upper-limb exoskeleton system that utilizes deep learning to predict human intention for strength augmentation. The embedded soft wearable sensors provide sensory feedback by collecting real-time muscle activities, which are simultaneously computed to determine the user’s intended movement. Cloud-based deep learning predicts four upper-limb joint motions with an average accuracy of 96.2% at a 500–550 ms response rate, suggesting that the exoskeleton operates just by human intention. In addition, an array of soft pneumatics assists the intended movements by providing 897 newtons of force while generating a displacement of 87 mm at maximum. The intent-driven exoskeleton can reduce human muscle activities by 3.7 times on average compared to the unassisted exoskeleton.
{"title":"Intelligent upper-limb exoskeleton integrated with soft bioelectronics and deep learning for intention-driven augmentation","authors":"Jinwoo Lee, Kangkyu Kwon, Ira Soltis, Jared Matthews, Yoon Jae Lee, Hojoong Kim, Lissette Romero, Nathan Zavanelli, Youngjin Kwon, Shinjae Kwon, Jimin Lee, Yewon Na, Sung Hoon Lee, Ki Jun Yu, Minoru Shinohara, Frank L. Hammond, Woon-Hong Yeo","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00297-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00297-0","url":null,"abstract":"The age and stroke-associated decline in musculoskeletal strength degrades the ability to perform daily human tasks using the upper extremities. Here, we introduce an intelligent upper-limb exoskeleton system that utilizes deep learning to predict human intention for strength augmentation. The embedded soft wearable sensors provide sensory feedback by collecting real-time muscle activities, which are simultaneously computed to determine the user’s intended movement. Cloud-based deep learning predicts four upper-limb joint motions with an average accuracy of 96.2% at a 500–550 ms response rate, suggesting that the exoskeleton operates just by human intention. In addition, an array of soft pneumatics assists the intended movements by providing 897 newtons of force while generating a displacement of 87 mm at maximum. The intent-driven exoskeleton can reduce human muscle activities by 3.7 times on average compared to the unassisted exoskeleton.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00297-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139715272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-06DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00293-4
Yunxia Jin, Mengxia Yu, Dat T. Nguyen, Xin Yang, Zhipeng Li, Ze Xiong, Chenhui Li, Yuxin Liu, Yong Lin Kong, John S. Ho
Wireless and battery-free radio-frequency (RF) sensors can be used to create physical spaces that ambiently sense and respond to human activities. Making such sensors ultra-flexible and transparent is important to preserve the aesthetics of living environments, accommodate daily activities, and functionally integrate with objects. However, existing RF sensors are unable to simultaneously achieve high transparency, flexibility, and the electrical conductivity required for remote room-scale operation. Here, we report 4.5 µm RF tag sensors achieving transparency exceeding 90% that provide capabilities in room-scale ambient wireless sensing. We develop a laser-assisted water-based adhesion-reversion process to digitally realize computer-aided RF design at scale. By individually tagging multiple objects and regions of the human body, we demonstrate multiplexed wireless tracking of human-environment interactions and physiological signals at a range of up to 8 m. These radio-frequency identification sensors open opportunities for non-intrusive wireless sensing of daily living spaces for applications in health monitoring and elderly care.
{"title":"Digitally-defined ultrathin transparent wireless sensor network for room-scale imperceptible ambient intelligence","authors":"Yunxia Jin, Mengxia Yu, Dat T. Nguyen, Xin Yang, Zhipeng Li, Ze Xiong, Chenhui Li, Yuxin Liu, Yong Lin Kong, John S. Ho","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00293-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00293-4","url":null,"abstract":"Wireless and battery-free radio-frequency (RF) sensors can be used to create physical spaces that ambiently sense and respond to human activities. Making such sensors ultra-flexible and transparent is important to preserve the aesthetics of living environments, accommodate daily activities, and functionally integrate with objects. However, existing RF sensors are unable to simultaneously achieve high transparency, flexibility, and the electrical conductivity required for remote room-scale operation. Here, we report 4.5 µm RF tag sensors achieving transparency exceeding 90% that provide capabilities in room-scale ambient wireless sensing. We develop a laser-assisted water-based adhesion-reversion process to digitally realize computer-aided RF design at scale. By individually tagging multiple objects and regions of the human body, we demonstrate multiplexed wireless tracking of human-environment interactions and physiological signals at a range of up to 8 m. These radio-frequency identification sensors open opportunities for non-intrusive wireless sensing of daily living spaces for applications in health monitoring and elderly care.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00293-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139700695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-03DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00295-2
Zhibin Li, Jing Yang, Yuxuan Zhang, Peiyan Geng, Jiansong Feng, Bin Chen, Xu Zhang, Guojiang Yuan, Xiaolong Chen, Taihong Wang
The development of iontronic skin (I-skin) capable of ultrafast sensing in a wide pressure range, comparable to human skin, is of paramount importance for intelligent robotics. However, this remains a major challenge due to the lack of iontronic array architectures that can achieve ultrafast readout and crosstalk-free under large capacitance response generated within a wide pressure range. Here, we report a frequency-coding architecture of artificial ion mechanoreceptor skin (AIM-skin) that can provide a universal mode of iontronic array sensing and bypass the dependence of complex integrated back-end interface electronics. Notably, the successful implementation of orthogonal frequency coding in the AIM-skin with high sensitivity and ultrawide pressure range achieve ultrafast parallel readout for the spatiotemporal mechanical stimuli. Furthermore, the parallel zero-potential mechanism (PZPM) of the architecture effectively mitigates electrical crosstalk between sensing units. We have demonstrated that combhination of proposed device and deep learning has a broad application prospect in intelligent human-machine interaction and real-time dynamic robotic manipulation.
{"title":"Ultrafast readout, crosstalk suppression iontronic array enabled by frequency-coding architecture","authors":"Zhibin Li, Jing Yang, Yuxuan Zhang, Peiyan Geng, Jiansong Feng, Bin Chen, Xu Zhang, Guojiang Yuan, Xiaolong Chen, Taihong Wang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00295-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00295-2","url":null,"abstract":"The development of iontronic skin (I-skin) capable of ultrafast sensing in a wide pressure range, comparable to human skin, is of paramount importance for intelligent robotics. However, this remains a major challenge due to the lack of iontronic array architectures that can achieve ultrafast readout and crosstalk-free under large capacitance response generated within a wide pressure range. Here, we report a frequency-coding architecture of artificial ion mechanoreceptor skin (AIM-skin) that can provide a universal mode of iontronic array sensing and bypass the dependence of complex integrated back-end interface electronics. Notably, the successful implementation of orthogonal frequency coding in the AIM-skin with high sensitivity and ultrawide pressure range achieve ultrafast parallel readout for the spatiotemporal mechanical stimuli. Furthermore, the parallel zero-potential mechanism (PZPM) of the architecture effectively mitigates electrical crosstalk between sensing units. We have demonstrated that combhination of proposed device and deep learning has a broad application prospect in intelligent human-machine interaction and real-time dynamic robotic manipulation.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00295-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139661020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00296-1
Cheng Wang, Yifeng Hu, Li Li
Flexible information memory is the key component of flexible electronic devices and the core of intelligent wearable devices. In this paper, Ge/Sb multilayer phase change films of various thickness ratios were prepared using polyether ether ketone as substrate, and their flexible phase change properties and device conversion characteristics were studied. After bending for 100000 times and bending experiments with different bending radius, the film can still realize the transition from amorphous to crystalline states, and the resistance fluctuation was small. Bending, stretching and pressing of the film resulted in grain refinement and increasing of crystalline resistance. The flexible electronic devices using Ge/Sb multilayer films were prepared. The phase change memory device can realize reversible conversion between SET and RESET states with different pulse widths in flat, bent states and after bending many times. All findings show that Ge/Sb multilayer films on PEEK substrate have broad application prospects in high-performance flexible memory in the future.
{"title":"Phase transition and electrical conversion properties of Ge/Sb nano-multilayer films on flexible substrates","authors":"Cheng Wang, Yifeng Hu, Li Li","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00296-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00296-1","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible information memory is the key component of flexible electronic devices and the core of intelligent wearable devices. In this paper, Ge/Sb multilayer phase change films of various thickness ratios were prepared using polyether ether ketone as substrate, and their flexible phase change properties and device conversion characteristics were studied. After bending for 100000 times and bending experiments with different bending radius, the film can still realize the transition from amorphous to crystalline states, and the resistance fluctuation was small. Bending, stretching and pressing of the film resulted in grain refinement and increasing of crystalline resistance. The flexible electronic devices using Ge/Sb multilayer films were prepared. The phase change memory device can realize reversible conversion between SET and RESET states with different pulse widths in flat, bent states and after bending many times. All findings show that Ge/Sb multilayer films on PEEK substrate have broad application prospects in high-performance flexible memory in the future.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00296-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139655706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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