Flexible Multimodal Sensing System Based on a Vertical Stacking Strategy for Efficiently Decoupling Multiple Signals

Nano Lett. 2024 Mar 13;24(10):3186-3195. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00046. Epub 2024 Feb 27.

Abstract

Multisensory integration enables the simultaneous perception of multiple environmental stimuli while minimizing size and energy consumption. However, conventional multifunctional integration in flexible electronics typically requires large-scale horizontal sensing arrays (such as flexible printed circuit boards), posing decoupling complexities, tensile strain limitation, and spatial constraints. Herein, a fully flexible multimodal sensing system (FMSS) is developed by coupling biomimetic stretchable conductive films (BSCFs) and strain-insensitive communication interfaces using a vertical stacking integration strategy. The FMSS achieves vertical integration without additional adhesives, and it can incorporate individual sensing layers and stretchable interconnects without any essential constraint on their deformations. Accordingly, the temperature and pressure are precisely decoupled simultaneously, and tensile stress can be accurately discerned in different directions. This vertical stacking integration strategy is expected to offer a new approach to significantly streamline the design and fabrication of multimodal sensing systems and enhance their decoupling capabilities.

Keywords: all-flexible integration; biomimetic stretchable conductive film; multiple-signal decoupling; strain-insensitive communication interface; vertical stacking strategy.