Mechanosensation electronics (or Electronic skin, e-skin) consists of mechanically flexible and stretchable sensor networks that can detect and quantify various stimuli to mimic the human somatosensory system, with the sensations of touch, heat/cold, and pain in skin through various sensory receptors and neural pathways. Here we present a skin-inspired highly stretchable and conformable matrix network (SCMN) that successfully expands the e-skin sensing functionality including but not limited to temperature, in-plane strain, humidity, light, magnetic field, pressure, and proximity. The actualized specific expandable sensor units integrated on a structured polyimide network, potentially in three-dimensional (3D) integration scheme, can also fulfill simultaneous multi-stimulus sensing and achieve an adjustable sensing range and large-area expandability. We further construct a personalized intelligent prosthesis and demonstrate its use in real-time spatial pressure mapping and temperature estimation. Looking forward, this SCMN has broader applications in humanoid robotics, new prosthetics, human–machine interfaces, and health-monitoring technologies.
With the increasing demand for wearable electronic products, there is a pressing need to develop electronic devices that seamlessly conform to the contours of the human body while delivering excellent performance and reliability. Traditional rigid electronic fabrication technologies fall short of meeting these requirements, necessitating the exploration of advanced flexible fabrication technologies that offer new possibilities for designing and fabricating flexible and stretchable electronic products, particularly in wearable devices. Over time, the continuous development of innovative fabrication techniques has ushered in significant improvements in the design freedom, lightweight, seamless integration, and multifunctionality of wearable electronics. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the advancements facilitated by advanced fabrication technology in wearable electronics. It specifically focuses on key fabrication methods, including printed electronics fabrication, soft transfer, 3D structure fabrication, and deformation fabrication. By highlighting these advancements, it sheds light on the challenges and prospects for further development in wearable electronics fabrication technologies. The introduction of advanced fabrication technologies has revolutionized the landscape of wearable/conformable electronics, expanding their application domains, streamlining system complexity associated with customization, manufacturing, and production, and opening up new avenues for innovation and development of body-conformable electronics.
Leakage interference between memory cells is the primary obstacle for enlarging X‐point memory arrays. Metal‐filament threshold switches, possessing excellent selectivity and low leakage current, are developed in series with memory cells to reduce sneak path current and lower power consumption. However, these selectors typically have limited on‐state currents (≤10 µA), which are insufficient for memory RESET operations. Here, a strategy is proposed to achieve sufficiently large RESET current (≈2.3 mA) by introducing highly ordered Ag nanodots to the threshold switch. Compared to the Ag thin film case, Ag nanodots as active electrode could avoid excessive Ag atoms migration into solid electrolyte during operations, which causes stable conductive filament growth. Furthermore, Ag nanodots with rapid thermal processing contribute to forming multiple weak Ag filaments at a lower voltage and then spontaneous rupture as the applied voltage reduced, according to quantized conductance and simulation analysis. Impressively, the Ag nanodots based threshold switch, which is bidirectional and truly electroforming‐free, demonstrates extremely high selectivity >109, ultralow leakage current <1 pA, very steep slope of 0.65 mV dec−1, and good thermal stability up to 200 °C, and further represents significant suppression of leakage currents and excellent performances for SET/RESET operations in the one‐selector‐one‐resistor configuration.
Power dissipation is a fundamental issue for future chip-based electronics. As promising channel materials, two-dimensional semiconductors show excellent capabilities of scaling dimensions and reducing off-state currents. However, field-effect transistors based on two-dimensional materials are still confronted with the fundamental thermionic limitation of the subthreshold swing of 60 mV decade−1 at room temperature. Here, we present an atomic threshold-switching field-effect transistor constructed by integrating a metal filamentary threshold switch with a two-dimensional MoS2 channel, and obtain abrupt steepness in the turn-on characteristics and 4.5 mV decade−1 subthreshold swing (over five decades). This is achieved by using the negative differential resistance effect from the threshold switch to induce an internal voltage amplification across the MoS2 channel. Notably, in such devices, the simultaneous achievement of efficient electrostatics, very small sub-thermionic subthreshold swings, and ultralow leakage currents, would be highly desirable for next-generation energy-efficient integrated circuits and ultralow-power applications.