Chip-less wireless electronic skins by remote epitaxial freestanding compound semiconductors

Science. 2022 Aug 19;377(6608):859-864. doi: 10.1126/science.abn7325. Epub 2022 Aug 18.

Abstract

Recent advances in flexible and stretchable electronics have led to a surge of electronic skin (e-skin)-based health monitoring platforms. Conventional wireless e-skins rely on rigid integrated circuit chips that compromise the overall flexibility and consume considerable power. Chip-less wireless e-skins based on inductor-capacitor resonators are limited to mechanical sensors with low sensitivities. We report a chip-less wireless e-skin based on surface acoustic wave sensors made of freestanding ultrathin single-crystalline piezoelectric gallium nitride membranes. Surface acoustic wave-based e-skin offers highly sensitive, low-power, and long-term sensing of strain, ultraviolet light, and ion concentrations in sweat. We demonstrate weeklong monitoring of pulse. These results present routes to inexpensive and versatile low-power, high-sensitivity platforms for wireless health monitoring devices.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Monitoring, Physiologic* / instrumentation
  • Pulse
  • Remote Sensing Technology* / instrumentation
  • Semiconductors
  • Sweat / chemistry
  • Wearable Electronic Devices*