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Miniature Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) pressure sensors possess various merits, such as low power consumption, being lightweight, having a small volume, accurate measurement in a space-limited region, low cost, little influence on the objects being detected. Accurate blood pressure has been frequently required for medical diagnosis. Miniature pressure sensors could directly measure the blood pressure and fluctuation in blood vessels with an inner diameter from 200 to 1000 μm. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases usually resulting from abnormal intraocular pressure. The implantable pressure sensor for real-time inspection would keep the disease from worsening; meanwhile, these small devices could alleviate the discomfort of patients. In addition to medical applications, miniature pressure sensors have also been used in the aerospace, industrial, and consumer electronics fields. To clearly illustrate the “miniature size”, this paper focuses on miniature pressure sensors with an overall size of less than 2 mm × 2 mm or a pressure sensitive diaphragm area of less than 1 mm × 1 mm. In this paper, firstly, the working principles of several types of pressure sensors are briefly introduced. Secondly, the miniaturization with the development of the semiconductor processing technology is discussed. Thirdly, the sizes, performances, manufacturing processes, structures, and materials of small pressure sensors used in the different fields are explained in detail, especially in the medical field. Fourthly, problems encountered in the miniaturization of miniature pressure sensors are analyzed and possible solutions proposed. Finally, the probable development directions of miniature pressure sensors in the future are discussed.

Compliance sensation is a unique feature of the human skin that electronic devices could not mimic via compact and thin formfactor devices. Due to the complex nature of the sensing mechanism, up to now, only high-precision or bulky handheld devices have been used to measure compliance of materials. This also prevents the development of electronic skin that is fully capable of mimicking human skin. Here, we developed a thin sensor that consists of a strain sensor coupled to a pressure sensor and is capable of identifying compliance of touched materials. The sensor can be easily integrated into robotic systems due to its small form factor. Results showed that the sensor is capable of classifying compliance of materials with high sensitivity allowing materials with various compliance to be identified. We integrated the sensor to a robotic finger to demonstrate the capability of the sensor for robotics. Further, the arrayed sensor configuration allows a compliance mapping which can enable humanlike sensations to robotic systems when grasping objects composed of multiple materials of varying compliance. These highly tunable sensors enable robotic systems to handle more advanced and complicated tasks such as classifying touched materials.

Conductive Ti3C2Tx MXenes have been widely investigated for the construction of flexible and highly‐sensitive pressure sensors. Although the inevitable oxidation of solution‐processed MXene has been recognized, the effect of the irreversible oxidation of MXene on its electrical conductivity and sensing properties is yet to be understood. Herein, we construct a highly‐sensitive and degradable piezoresistive pressure sensor by coating Ti3C2Tx MXene flakes with different degrees of in situ oxidation onto paper substrates using the dipping‐drying method. In situ oxidation can tune the intrinsic resistance and expand the interlayer distance of MXene nanosheets. The partially oxidized MXene‐based piezoresistive pressure sensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 28.43 kPa−1, which is greater than those of pristine MXene, over‐oxidized MXene, and state‐of‐the‐art paper‐based pressure sensors. Additionally, these sensors exhibit a short response time of 98.3 ms, good durability over 5000 measurement cycles, and a low force detection limit of 0.8 Pa. Moreover, MXene‐based sensing elements are easily degraded and environmentally friendly. The MXene‐based pressure sensor shows promise for practical applications in tracking body movements, sports coaching, remote health monitoring, and human–computer interactions. The highly‐sensitive and degradable piezoresistive pressure sensor was constructed by coating Ti3C2Tx MXene flakes with different degrees of in situ oxidation onto paper substrates using the dipping‐drying method. In situ oxidation tunes the intrinsic resistance and expand the interlayer distance of MXene nanosheets, which regulates the sensitivity of the sensor. It is found that the partially oxidized MXene based pressure sensor demonstrates remarkably higher sensitivity (28.43 kPa−1) than those of pristine MXene, over‐oxidized MXene, and state‐of‐the‐art paper‐based pressure sensors.

The demand for high performance multifunctional wearable devices is more and more pushing towards the development of novel low-cost, soft and flexible sensors with high sensitivity. In the present work, we describe the fabrication process and the properties of new polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) foams loaded with multilayer graphene nanoplatelets (MLGs) for application as high sensitive piezoresistive pressure sensors. The effective DC conductivity of the produced foams is measured as a function of MLG loading. The piezoresistive response of the MLG-PDMS foam-based sensor at different strain rates is assessed through quasi-static pressure tests. The results of the experimental investigations demonstrated that sensor loaded with 0.96 wt.% of MLGs is characterized by a highly repeatable pressure-dependent conductance after a few stabilization cycles and it is suitable for detecting compressive stresses as low as 10 kPa, with a sensitivity of 0.23 kPa−1, corresponding to an applied pressure of 70 kPa. Moreover, it is estimated that the sensor is able to detect pressure variations of ~1 Pa. Therefore, the new graphene-PDMS composite foam is a lightweight cost-effective material, suitable for sensing applications in the subtle or low and medium pressure ranges.

Designing stretchable and skin-conformal self-powered sensors for intelligent sensing and posture recognition is challenging. Here, based on a multi-force mixing and vulcanization process, as well as synergistically piezoelectricity of BaTiO 3 and polyacrylonitrile, an all-in-one, stretchable, and self-powered elastomer-based piezo-pressure sensor (ASPS) with high sensitivity is reported. The ASPS presents excellent sensitivity (0.93 V/10 4 Pa of voltage and 4.92 nA/10 4 Pa of current at a pressure of 10–200 kPa) and high durability (over 10,000 cycles). Moreover, the ASPS exhibits a wide measurement range, good linearity, rapid response time, and stable frequency response. All components were fabricated using silicone, affording satisfactory skin-conformality for sensing postures. Through cooperation with a homemade circuit and artificial intelligence algorithm, an information processing strategy was proposed to realize intelligent sensing and recognition. The home-made circuit achieves the acquisition and wireless transmission of ASPS signals (transmission distance up to 50 m), and the algorithm realizes the classification and identification of ASPS signals (accuracy up to 99.5%). This study proposes not only a novel fabrication method for developing self-powered sensors, but also a new information processing strategy for intelligent sensing and recognition, which offers significant application potential in human—machine interaction, physiological analysis, and medical research.

HighlightsThe iontronic pressure sensor achieved an ultrahigh sensitivity (Smin > 200 kPa−1, Smax > 45,000 kPa−1).The iontronic pressure sensor exhibited a broad sensing range of over 1.4 MPa.Pseudocapacitive iontronic pressure sensor using MXene was proposed.Flexible pressure sensors are unprecedentedly studied on monitoring human physical activities and robotics. Simultaneously, improving the response sensitivity and sensing range of flexible pressure sensors is a great challenge, which hinders the devices’ practical application. Targeting this obstacle, we developed a Ti3C2Tx-derived iontronic pressure sensor (TIPS) by taking the advantages of the high intercalation pseudocapacitance under high pressure and rationally designed structural configuration. TIPS achieved an ultrahigh sensitivity (Smin > 200 kPa−1, Smax > 45,000 kPa−1) in a broad sensing range of over 1.4 MPa and low limit of detection of 20 Pa as well as stable long-term working durability for 10,000 cycles. The practical application of TIPS in physical activity monitoring and flexible robot manifested its versatile potential. This study provides a demonstration for exploring pseudocapacitive materials for building flexible iontronic sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity and sensing range to advance the development of high-performance wearable electronics.

HighlightsHigh porosity and low modulus of the active layer are found to contribute to high sensitivity in a capacitive pressure sensor.Pressure sensor achieves a superhigh sensitivity of 9280 kPa-1 by using polyurethane-ionic liquid foam with a high porosity (95.4%) and a low modulus (3.4 kPa).Flexible pressure sensors with high sensitivity are desired in the fields of electronic skins, human–machine interfaces, and health monitoring. Employing ionic soft materials with microstructured architectures in the functional layer is an effective way that can enhance the amplitude of capacitance signal due to generated electron double layer and thus improve the sensitivity of capacitive-type pressure sensors. However, the requirement of specific apparatus and the complex fabrication process to build such microstructures lead to high cost and low productivity. Here, we report a simple strategy that uses open-cell polyurethane foams with high porosity as a continuous three-dimensional network skeleton to load with ionic liquid in a one-step soak process, serving as the ionic layer in iontronic pressure sensors. The high porosity (95.4%) of PU-IL composite foam shows a pretty low Young’s modulus of 3.4 kPa and good compressibility. A superhigh maximum sensitivity of 9,280 kPa−1 in the pressure regime and a high pressure resolution of 0.125% are observed in this foam-based pressure sensor. The device also exhibits remarkable mechanical stability over 5,000 compression-release or bending-release cycles. Such high porosity of composite structure provides a simple, cost-effective and scalable way to fabricate super sensitive pressure sensor, which has prominent capability in applications of water wave detection, underwater vibration sensing, and mechanical fault monitoring.

With the increasing demand for smart wearable clothing, the textile piezoelectric pressure sensor (T-PEPS) that can harvest mechanical energy directly has attracted significant attention. However, the current challenge of T-PEPS lies in remaining the outstanding output performance without compromising its wearing comfort. Here, a novel structural hierarchy T-PEPS based on the single-crystalline ZnO nanorods are designed. The T-PEPS is constructed with three layers mode consisting of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, the top and bottom layers of conductive rGO polyester (PET) fabrics with self-orientation ZnO nanorods. As a result, the as-fabricated T-PEPS shows low detection limit up to 8.71 Pa, high output voltage to 11.47 V and superior mechanical stability. The sensitivity of the sensor is 0.62 V·kPa −1 in the pressure range of 0–2.25 kPa. Meanwhile, the T-PEPS is employed to detect human movements such as bending/relaxation motion of the wrist, bending/stretching motion of each finger. It is demonstrated that the T-PEPS can be up-scaled to promote the application of wearable sensor platforms and self-powered devices.

Human–computer interfaces, smart glasses, touch screens, and some electronic skins require highly transparent and flexible pressure‐sensing elements. Flexible pressure sensors often apply a microstructured or porous active material to improve their sensitivity and response speed. However, the microstructures or small pores will result in high haze and low transparency of the device, and thus it is challenging to balance the sensitivity and transparency simultaneously in flexible pressure sensors or electronic skins. Here, for a capacitive‐type sensor that consists of a porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film sandwiched between two transparent electrodes, the challenge is addressed by filling the pores with ionic liquid that has the same refractive index with PVDF, and the transmittance of the film dramatically boosts from 0 to 94.8% in the visible range. Apart from optical matching, the ionic liquid also significantly improves the signal intensity as well as the sensitivity due to the formation of an electric double layer at the dielectric‐electrode interfaces, and improves the toughness and stretchability of the active material benefiting from a plasticization effect. Such transparent and flexible sensors will be useful in smart windows, invisible bands, and so forth. An opaque to transparent transition happens when a microporous dielectric is filled with ionic liquid with a close refractive index. For a capacitive‐type pressure sensor with a porous dielectric, the filling of ionic liquid can significantly improve its transparency to 90%, and enhance its sensitivity by introducing electric double layers, thus enabling wide applications.

HighlightsVarious morphological structures in pressure sensors with the resulting advanced sensing properties are reviewed comprehensively.Relevant manufacturing techniques and intelligent applications of pressure sensors are summarized in a complete and interesting way.Future challenges and perspectives of flexible pressure sensors are critically discussed.As an indispensable branch of wearable electronics, flexible pressure sensors are gaining tremendous attention due to their extensive applications in health monitoring, human –machine interaction, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and other fields. In recent years, highly flexible and wearable pressure sensors have been developed using various materials/structures and transduction mechanisms. Morphological engineering of sensing materials at the nanometer and micrometer scales is crucial to obtaining superior sensor performance. This review focuses on the rapid development of morphological engineering technologies for flexible pressure sensors. We discuss different architectures and morphological designs of sensing materials to achieve high performance, including high sensitivity, broad working range, stable sensing, low hysteresis, high transparency, and directional or selective sensing. Additionally, the general fabrication techniques are summarized, including self-assembly, patterning, and auxiliary synthesis methods. Furthermore, we present the emerging applications of high-performing microengineered pressure sensors in healthcare, smart homes, digital sports, security monitoring, and machine learning-enabled computational sensing platform. Finally, the potential challenges and prospects for the future developments of pressure sensors are discussed comprehensively.