Zhuocheng Yan

Highly stretchable and shape-controllable three-dimensional antenna fabricated by “Cut-Transfer-Release” method

Recent progresses on the Kirigami-inspired method provide a new idea to assemble three-dimensional (3D) functional structures with conventional materials by releasing the prestrained elastomeric substrates. In this paper, highly stretchable serpentine-like antenna is fabricated by a simple and quick “Cut-Transfer-Release” method for assembling stretchable 3D functional structures on an elastomeric substrate with a controlled shape. The mechanical reliability of the serpentine-like 3D stretchable antenna is evaluated by the finite element method and experiments. The antenna shows consistent radio frequency performance with center frequency at 5.6 GHz during stretching up to 200%. The 3D structure is also able to eliminate the hand effect observed commonly in the conventional antenna. This work is expected to spur the applications of novel 3D structures in the stretchable electronics.

Thermal Release Transfer Printing for Stretchable Conformal Bioelectronics

Abstract Soft neural electrode arrays that are mechanically matched between neural tissues and electrodes offer valuable opportunities for the development of disease diagnose and brain computer interface systems. Here, a thermal release transfer printing method for fabrication of stretchable bioelectronics, such as soft neural electrode arrays, is presented. Due to the large, switchable and irreversible change in adhesion strength of thermal release tape, a low‐cost, easy‐to‐operate, and temperature‐controlled transfer printing process can be achieved. The mechanism of this method is analyzed by experiments and fracture‐mechanics models. Using the thermal release transfer printing method, a stretchable neural electrode array is fabricated by a sacrificial‐layer‐free process. The ability of the as‐fabricated electrode array to conform different curvilinear surfaces is confirmed by experimental and theoretical studies. High‐quality electrocorticography signals of anesthetized rat are collected with the as‐fabricated electrode array, which proves good conformal interface between the electrodes and dura mater. The application of the as‐fabricated electrode array on detecting the steady‐state visual evoked potentials research is also demonstrated by in vivo experiments and the results are compared with those detected by stainless‐steel screw electrodes.

Ultrafast response flexible breath sensor based on vanadium dioxide

Real-time monitoring of breath can provide clinically relevant information about apnea syndrome and other important aspects of human physiology. Here, we introduce a flexible skin-like breath sensor developed by transfer-printing vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films on PDMS substrates. This flexible breath sensor can conformably laminate on the skin under the nose with different curvatures and operate at different environment temperatures through day and night. Attributed to the high temperature coefficient of resistance of VO2, the enhanced breath sensing performance was demonstrated and the response time and recovery time can be as fast as 0.5 s. The excellent sensing performance and fast response time indicate that the VO2-based breath sensor is feasible in monitoring breath for prevention of apnea syndrome.

A Ferroelectric Ceramic/Polymer Composite‐Based Capacitive Electrode Array for In Vivo Recordings

A new implantable capacitive electrode array for electrocorticography signal recording is developed with ferroelectric ceramic/polymer composite. This ultrathin and electrically safe capacitive electrode array is capable of attaching to the biological tissue conformably. The barium titanate/polyimide (BaTiO3 /PI) nanocomposite with high dielectric constant is successfully synthesized and employed as the ultrathin dielectric layer of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array. The performance of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array is evaluated by electrical characterization and 3D finite-element modeling. In vivo, neural experiments on the visual cortex of rats show the reliability of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array. This work shows the potentials of capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array in the field of brain/computer interfaces.

Flexible ultra-wideband rectangle monopole antenna with O-slot insertion design

Slot insertion design has proven to be an effective method to increase the bandwidth in the design of microstrip antenna. In this paper, the slot insertion design is applied to the flexible ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna. A flexible rectangular UWB monopole antenna is proposed and fabricated with O-slot design using the transfer printing method. By simulating the influence of O-slot design parameters on electromagnetic performance of the antenna, an optimized antenna design is obtained to keep the reflection coefficient under −10 dB with the frequencies ranging from 3.5 to 17.8 GHz when the antenna is bent with curvature radius as small as 11 mm. The effect of bending on the reflection coefficient is analyzed. Mechanical simulations indicate that the existence of O-slot can reduce the strain concentration on the metal layer of antenna, which enhances the flexibility of the antenna.

MWCNTs based flexible and stretchable strain sensors

Carbon nanotubes have potential applications in flexible and stretchable devices due to their remarkable electromechanical properties. Flexible and stretchable strain sensors of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with aligned or random structures were fabricated on poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate with different techniques. It was observed that the spraycoatedtechniquebased strain sensor fabricated on PDMS substrate showed higher sensitivity higher stretchability, better linearity and excellent longer time stability than the sensor fabricated with other methods presented in this work. The scanning electron microscopy images indicated the spray coating technique can produce a better uniform and compact CNT network, which is the important role affecting the performance of CNT-based flexible strain sensors.

Ultrasensitive Flexible Temperature-Mechanical Dual-Parameter Sensor Based on Vanadium Dioxide Films

Flexible temperature and mechanical sensing capabilities are of great importance in the artificial intelligence. Here, we report a skin conformable, high sensitive temperature-mechanical dual-parameter sensor based on a PET/vanadium dioxide (VO2)/PDMS multilayer structure fabricated using the transfer printing technique. The ultrahigh mechanical sensitivity to strains in the range of 0%–0.1% with a gauge factor over 400 was attributed to the disconnection-reconnection process of the ziplike nanoscale cracks under strain or vibration. And the enhanced temperature sensing performance with a resolution of 0.1 K was attributed to the high temperature coefficient of resistance of VO2 material. The temperature and the mechanical signals simultaneously recorded in the electrical resistance signal were separated via fast Fourier transform (FFT) and inverse FFT. The flexibility and ultra-sensitivity to temperature and vibration make the sensor a promising application in advanced artificial intelligence.