Publication Date

2018

Journal or Book Title

Nature Communications

Abstract

Biological sensory organelles are often structurally optimized for high sensitivity. Tactile hairs or bristles are ubiquitous mechanosensory organelles in insects. The bristle features a tapering spine that not only serves as a lever arm to promote signal transduction, but also a clever design to protect it from mechanical breaking. A hierarchical distribution over the body further improves the signal detection from all directions. We mimic these features by using synthetic zinc oxide microparticles, each having spherically-distributed, high-aspect-ratio, and high-density nanostructured spines resembling biological bristles. Sensors based on thin films assembled from these microparticles achieve static-pressure detection down to 0.015 Pa, sensitivity up to 121 kPa−1, and a strain gauge factor >104, showing supreme overall performance. Other properties including a robust cyclability >2000, fast response time ~7 ms, and low-temperature synthesis compatible to various integrations further indicate the potential of this sensor technology in applying to wearable technologies and human interfaces.

ORCID

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-3190, http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1463-9916, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7425-3305,

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07672-2

Volume

9

License

UMass Amherst Open Access Policy

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Share

COinS