An ultra-sensitive resistive pressure sensor based on the V-shaped foam-like structure of laser-scribed graphene

Abstract

We demonstrate a flexible, ultra-sensitive resistive pressure sensor based on the foam-like structure of laser-scribed graphene (LSG). Benefitting from the unique microstructure of the LSG, the sensitivity of the pressure sensor is as high as 0.96 kPa−1 in the low pressure range (0∼50 kPa), which is the highest among all reported graphene-based pressure sensors. Moreover, the sensitivity in the high pressure range (50∼113 kPa) is 0.005 kPa−1. The response of the pressure sensor is highly stable up to 100 cycles with excellent performance. Our pressure sensor can meet the needs of specific applications, for example, high sensitivity for low-pressure applications and low sensitivity for high deformation applications. Moreover, the laser-scribing technology could enable large-scale production of the LSG pressure sensor with low cost in ∼20 minutes. Our work indicates that laser scribed flexible graphene pressure sensors could be widely used for artificial electronic skin (e-skin), medical-sensing, bio-sensing and many other areas.