Compressibility

Engineering

Wind tunnel

Materials science

Range (aeronautics)

Acoustics

Mechanical engineering

Physics

Nanotechnology

Static pressure

Microstructure

Electronic engineering

Composite material

Sensitivity (control systems)

Pressure sensor

Mechanics

Pressure-sensitive paint

Optoelectronics

Nature Communications

Sensitivity is a crucial parameter for flexible pressure sensors and electronic skins. While introducing microstructures (e.g., micro-pyramids) can effectively improve the sensitivity, it in turn leads to a limited pressure-response range due to the poor structural compressibility. Here, we report a strategy of engineering intrafillable microstructures that can significantly boost the sensitivity while simultaneously broadening the pressure responding range. Such intrafillable microstructures feature undercuts and grooves that accommodate deformed surface microstructures, effectively enhancing the structural compressibility and the pressure-response range. The intrafillable iontronic sensor exhibits an unprecedentedly high sensitivity ( S min &gt; 220 kPa −1 ) over a broad pressure regime (0.08 Pa-360 kPa), and an ultrahigh pressure resolution (18 Pa or 0.0056%) over the full pressure range, together with remarkable mechanical stability. The intrafillable structure is a general design expected to be applied to other types of sensors to achieve a broader pressure-response range and a higher sensitivity.

Graded intrafillable architecture-based iontronic pressure sensor with ultra-broad-range high sensitivity