Abstract

Room-temperature liquid metal has been widely used in flexible and stretchable sensors, focusing on embedding liquid metal in microchannels, liquid metal microdroplets formation, captive sensors, and liquid metal nanoparticles, etc. In this paper, a facile Eutectic Galium-Indium (EGaln) liquid-based microfluidic high-sensitivity, skin-mountable, and ultra-soft stretchable sensor is developed. It comprises Ecoflex microfluidic assembly filled with EGaln, which serves as the working fluid of the stretchable sensor. The lithography method is applied to achieve microfluidic channel. The microfluidic channel is optimized by using topology method and finite element analysis, making this device with high conformability and high stretchability. This method achieved an outstanding effect on elastomer-encapsulated strain gauge, which displays an approximately linear behavior with a gauge factor (GF). The GF could reach as high as 4.95 when the strain ultimately reached 550%. Applications of detection of the joints, fingers, and wrists has been conducted and showed excellent results. This work can further facilitate the exploration and potential realization of a functional liquid-state device technology with superior mechanical flexibility and conformability.

Details

Title
Microchannel Structural Design For a Room-Temperature Liquid Metal Based Super-stretchable Sensor
Author
Gao Qinwu 1 ; Li, Hui 2 ; Zhang, Jinjie 2 ; Xie Zhenwen 2 ; Zhang, Jinyong 2 ; Wang, Lei 2 

 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China (GRID:grid.458489.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0483 7922); Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China (GRID:grid.41156.37) (ISNI:0000 0001 2314 964X) 
 Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China (GRID:grid.458489.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0483 7922) 
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2207983795
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.