Abstract
Stretchable and wearable strain sensors have been intensively studied in recent years for applications in human motion monitoring. However, achieving a high-performance strain sensor with high stretchability, ultra-sensitivity, and functionality, such as tunable sensing ranges and sensitivity to various stimuli, has not yet been reported, even though such sensors have great importance for the future applications of wearable electronics. Herein, a novel and versatile strain sensor based on a cracking (silver ink patterned silicone elastomer)-(silver plated nylon structure) (Ag-DS/CF) has been designed and fabricated. The unique structure combined precisely shaped stretchable conductive fabrics and wrinkled Ag-ink pattern to achieve an excellent electrical performance. The Ag-DS/CF could be used to detect both large and subtle human motions and activities, pressure changes, and physical vibrations by achieving high stretchability up to 75%, ultrahigh sensitivity (gauge factor >104–106), tunable sensing ranges (from 7 to 75%). Excellent durability was demonstrated for human motion monitoring with machine washability. The extremely versatile Ag-DS/CF showed outstanding potential for the future of wearable electronics in real-time monitoring of human health, sports performance, etc.
Highlights
Stretchable electronics have become one of the most vigorously studied research fields as they enable close fitting on curvilinear surfaces or direct attachment to the human skin that is highly important in new generation of portable and wearable electronics[1,2]
The sensor configuration was expressed as the length of the over-molded part (Dragon Skin; DS) (LDS) to the length of the T/L-shaped conductive fabrics (CFs) on both sides (LT-CF = LCF1 + LCF2) of the over-molded part in terms of their percentages for the total length of the sensor structure, as LDS %:LT-CF % (Fig. 1b)
The LCF1 + LCF2 was equal to that of LDS. This was followed with adjustment of the volume of the cavity between protrusions of CFs by changing the size and number of stacked Kapton tapes (KTs)
Summary
Stretchable electronics have become one of the most vigorously studied research fields as they enable close fitting on curvilinear surfaces or direct attachment to the human skin that is highly important in new generation of portable and wearable electronics[1,2]. One of the key applications of stretchable electronics have been electronic skins that can mimic its functions, or even beyond that by enabling conversion of various stimuli produced by the human body and surrounding environment to electrical signals (pressure, strain, temperature, humidity, etc.)[3,4] These can be widely applied in biomedical sensing for personalized healthcare[1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] or sports performance monitoring[3,5,8,9], and human-machine interfaces for robotics, etc[1,3,4,5,6,10]. Their extraordinary functionality and sensing performance enabled detection of various human motions and activities ranging from large to subtle
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
