Strain-Insensitive Hierarchically Structured Stretchable Microstrip Antennas for Robust Wireless Communication

As the key component of wireless data transmission and powering,stretchable antennas play an indispensable role in flexible/stretchable electronics.However,they often suffer from frequency detuning upon mechanical deformations;thus,their applications are limited to wireless sensing with wireless transmission capabilities remaining elusive.Here,a hierarchically structured stretchable microstrip antenna with meshed patterns arranged in an arched shape showcases tunable resonance frequency upon deformations with improved overall stretchability.The almost unchanged resonance frequency during deformations enables robust on-body wireless communication and RF energy harvesting,whereas the rapid changing resonance frequency with deformations allows for wireless sensing.The proposed stretchable microstrip antenna was demonstrated to communicate wirelessly with a transmitter(input power of−3 dBm)efficiently(i.e.,the receiving power higher than−100 dBm over a distance of 100 m)on human bodies even upon 25%stretching.The flexibility in structural engineering combined with the coupled mechanical-electromagnetic simulations,provides a versatile engineering toolkit to design stretchable microstrip antennas and other potential wireless devices for stretchable electronics.

Synergistic creation of highly stable strain-insensitive pressure sensors by in-plane strain modulation and quasi-homogenous interfacial design

The urgent requirement of electronic skin conformably attached to nonplanar surfaces to provide sta-ble monitoring in areas of healthcare,prosthetics,and robotics promotes the development of strain-insensitive/unperturbed pressure sensors.The main challenges lie in:(1)stretchability and conduc-tive stability of flexible electrodes and(2)mechanical stability of heterogeneous interfaces.This study presents a highly stable strain-insensitive pressure sensor achieved by in-plane strain modulation and quasi-homogenous interfacial design.Strain modulation of stretchable electrodes by both periodic mi-crostructured engineering and pre-stretching strategies(called“island-ripple”)was employed to suppress microcracks propagation.The improvement in stretchability and cyclic conductive stability of electrodes was identified by finite element analysis and experimental verification.The pre-stretched microconed stretchable electrode with a low sheet resistance of 0.546sq^(−1) shows a maximum deformation of up to 80%and excellent cyclic conductive stability over 10000 times under 30%strain.Quasi-homogenous interface strategy by the CNTs/PDMS system was employed to enhance the mechanical and electrical sta-bility of the electrode-active materials interface,demonstrating a strong peel strength and shear strength of>40.9 N/m and>124.8 kPa,respectively.The as-prepared strain-insensitive pressure sensor provides constant sensing performance over 5000 stretching-releasing cycles within 20%stretching.In addition,a 4×4 pixel strain-insensitive pressure sensor array with reduced cross-talk circuit design was further integrated to identify the shape and weight of different objects under strains.The stretchability and sta-bility of our sensor enable it to be applied in stretchable electronics with great potential.

超拉伸水凝胶热电偶

可拉伸温度传感对实现人机触觉交互和温度调节至关重要,这些传感元件需要贴合特异性表面,且在拉伸条件下保持温度感知的精度.现有可拉伸温度传感器由于温度和形变引起电阻变化的相互干扰,在拉伸过程中存在固有的传感不稳定问题.本文提出了一种超可拉伸水凝胶热电偶,通过构建具有动态交联双网络的热电水凝胶,实现水凝胶热电偶的超拉伸性.通过设计的P型和N型热电水凝胶,构建热电偶单元.热电偶表现出1.93 mV K^(-1)的高塞贝克系数,即使在100%的拉伸应变下,灵敏度依然保持稳定.本文的研究结果为可拉伸温度传感器提供了一种新的策略,并有望广泛应用于智能可穿戴设备.

Multiaxially-stretchable kirigami-patterned mesh design for graphene sensor devices

In wearable electronics,significant research has gone into imparting stretchability and flexibility to otherwise rigid electronic components while maintaining their electrical properties.Thus far,this has been achieved through various geometric modifications of the rigid conductive components themselves,such as with microcracked,buckled,or planar meander structures.Additionally,strategic placement of these resulting components within the overall devices,such as embedding them at the neutral plane,has been found to further enhance mechanical stability under deformation.However,these strategies are still limited in performance,failing to achieve fully strain-insensitive electrical performance under biaxial stretching,twisting,and mixed strain states.Here,we developed a new platform for wearable,motion artifact-free sensors using a graphene-based multiaxially stretchable kirigami-patterned mesh structure.The normalized resistance change of the electrodes and graphene embedded in the structure is smaller than 0.5%and 0.23%under 180°torsion and 100%biaxial strain,respectively.Moreover,the resistance change is limited to 5%under repeated stretching-releasing cycles from 0%to 100%biaxial strain.In addition,we investigated the deformation mechanisms of the structure with finite element analysis.Based on the simulation results,we derived a dimensionless geometric parameter that enables prediction of stretchability of the structure with high accuracy.Lastly,as a proof-of-concept,we demonstrated a biaxially-stretchable graphene-based sensor array capable of monitoring of temperature and glucose level with minimized motion-artifacts.