Flexible Pressure Sensor With Multi-Stage Microdome Structure Enabling Ultra-Wide Linear Range and High Sensitivity for Wearable Applications.

Flexible piezoresistive sensors show significant application potential in wearable health monitoring, motion recognition, and human-machine interaction. However, current sensors often face a trade-off between insufficient sensitivity and rapid saturation at high pressures, making it difficult to simultaneously achieve both high sensitivity and a wide pressure detection range. Herein, we propose an MXene-based flexible piezoresistive sensor with a multi-stage microdome (MSM) structure, enabling high sensitivity and a broad response range. Benefitting from the multi-stage compression and stepwise contact feature of this architecture, the prepared MXene-based flexible pressure sensor achieves an ultra-wide detection range of up to 2500 kPa and a high sensitivity of 11.57 kPa- 1. Coupled with deep learning algorithms, the designed palm- and sole-shaped sensor arrays enable effective Morse code recognition, object grasping recognition, and human motion recognition, achieving a high recognition accuracy exceeding 95%. The developed MSM architecture presents a promising strategy for resolving the longstanding challenge of balancing high sensitivity and extended pressure detection range in piezoresistive sensors, offering an effective pathway to promote their large-scale implementation.