03 July 2024 | Wennan Xiong, Fan Zhang, Shiyuan Qu, Liting Yin, Kan Li & YongAn Huang
A Marangoni-driven deterministic formation method is proposed to fabricate hollow microstructures for enhanced tactile sensitivity. This approach enables greater deformation while reducing structural stiffening during compression. Fluid convective deposition allows solute particles to reassemble in template microstructures, controlling the interior cavity with a void ratio exceeding 90%. The hollow micro-pyramid sensor exhibits a 10-fold sensitivity improvement across a wider pressure range compared to solid micro-pyramids, with an ultra-low detection limit of 0.21 Pa. The method is scalable, compatible with large areas, and can be applied to other sensor types for superior performance. It has potential in robotic tactile and epidermal devices.
Three-dimensional (3D) microstructures have been widely studied for applications in biomedical monitoring, human-machine interfaces, robotic tactile, and microfliers due to their softness, lightweight, conformality, and compressibility. Flexible capacitive pressure sensors (CPSs) have shown advantages in simple construction, high sensitivity, and fast response. The 3D mechanical design of the structured dielectric layer plays a crucial role in determining sensor performance, including sensitivity. Hollow microstructures, which contain an interior cavity, are softer and provide more space for compression under high pressure, making them promising for pressure sensors. Previous work has reported on the preparation of hollow micro-domes, but the process is cumbersome and challenging to fabricate hollow structured arrays with micrometer scale.
A Marangoni-driven deterministic formation approach is used to fabricate a soft film featuring hollow structured microarrays. During the drying process of the polymer solution, fluid convective deposition allows the remaining solute particles to reassemble and distribute in the mold pit for cavity formation within microstructures. The interior cavity can be controlled to attain a high void ratio of over 90%, with geometric profiles precisely predicted using a Gaussian curve model. Compared to conventional solid structures, the inner cavity of hollow microstructures experiences the majority of compressive deformation during compression, resulting in exceptional compressibility and superior resistance to structural stiffening. The results indicate that the hollow micro-pyramid (HMP) enhanced CPS exhibits higher sensitivities over wider pressure ranges than sensors using high-aspect-ratio microstructures.
The HMP-enhanced CPS has a fast response time of 16.8 ms, an ultra-low limit of detection (LoD) of 0.21 Pa, and exceptional stability even after 10,000 cycles. It is verified by integrating with the robotic electronic skin for tactile perception, which involves detecting subtle pressure changes under significant pre-contact pressures to construct an automatic robotic pulse-diagnosis system. The proposed fabrication process for hollow microstructures is compatible with the prevalent replicamolding technology for solid microstructures, which is simple, scalable, and large-area compatible. This structural design and fabrication can be extended to other types of sensors for high performance.A Marangoni-driven deterministic formation method is proposed to fabricate hollow microstructures for enhanced tactile sensitivity. This approach enables greater deformation while reducing structural stiffening during compression. Fluid convective deposition allows solute particles to reassemble in template microstructures, controlling the interior cavity with a void ratio exceeding 90%. The hollow micro-pyramid sensor exhibits a 10-fold sensitivity improvement across a wider pressure range compared to solid micro-pyramids, with an ultra-low detection limit of 0.21 Pa. The method is scalable, compatible with large areas, and can be applied to other sensor types for superior performance. It has potential in robotic tactile and epidermal devices.
Three-dimensional (3D) microstructures have been widely studied for applications in biomedical monitoring, human-machine interfaces, robotic tactile, and microfliers due to their softness, lightweight, conformality, and compressibility. Flexible capacitive pressure sensors (CPSs) have shown advantages in simple construction, high sensitivity, and fast response. The 3D mechanical design of the structured dielectric layer plays a crucial role in determining sensor performance, including sensitivity. Hollow microstructures, which contain an interior cavity, are softer and provide more space for compression under high pressure, making them promising for pressure sensors. Previous work has reported on the preparation of hollow micro-domes, but the process is cumbersome and challenging to fabricate hollow structured arrays with micrometer scale.
A Marangoni-driven deterministic formation approach is used to fabricate a soft film featuring hollow structured microarrays. During the drying process of the polymer solution, fluid convective deposition allows the remaining solute particles to reassemble and distribute in the mold pit for cavity formation within microstructures. The interior cavity can be controlled to attain a high void ratio of over 90%, with geometric profiles precisely predicted using a Gaussian curve model. Compared to conventional solid structures, the inner cavity of hollow microstructures experiences the majority of compressive deformation during compression, resulting in exceptional compressibility and superior resistance to structural stiffening. The results indicate that the hollow micro-pyramid (HMP) enhanced CPS exhibits higher sensitivities over wider pressure ranges than sensors using high-aspect-ratio microstructures.
The HMP-enhanced CPS has a fast response time of 16.8 ms, an ultra-low limit of detection (LoD) of 0.21 Pa, and exceptional stability even after 10,000 cycles. It is verified by integrating with the robotic electronic skin for tactile perception, which involves detecting subtle pressure changes under significant pre-contact pressures to construct an automatic robotic pulse-diagnosis system. The proposed fabrication process for hollow microstructures is compatible with the prevalent replicamolding technology for solid microstructures, which is simple, scalable, and large-area compatible. This structural design and fabrication can be extended to other types of sensors for high performance.