Biomimetic sensor technology is always superior to existing human technologies. The scorpion, especially the forest scorpion, has a unique ability to detect subtle vibrations, which is attributed to the microcrack-shaped slit sensillum on its legs. Here, the biological sensing mechanism of the typical scorpion (Heterometrus petersii) was intensively studied in order to newly design and significantly improve the flexible strain sensors. Benefiting from the easy-crack property of polystyrene (PS) and using the solvent-induced swelling as well as double template transferring method, regular and controllable microcrack arrays were successfully fabricated on top of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Using this method, any physical damage to PDMS could be effectively avoided. More fortunately, this bio-inspired crack arrays fabricated in this work also had a radial-like pattern similar to the slit sensillum of the scorpion, which was another unexpected imitation. The gauge factor (GF) of the sensor was conservatively evaluated at 5888.89 upon 2% strain and the response time was 297 ms. Afterward, it was demonstrated that the bio-inspired regular microcrack arrays could also significantly enhance the performance of traditional strain sensors, especially in terms of the sensitivity and response time. The practical applications, such as the detection of human motions and surface folding, were also tested in this work, with the results showing significant potential applications in numerous fields. This work changes the traditional waste cracks on some damaged products into valuable things for ultrasensitive mechanical sensors. Moreover, with this manufacturing technique, we could easily realize the simple, low cost and large-scale fabrication of advanced bioinpired sensors.

中文翻译：

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具有生物启发性裂纹阵列的高性能柔性应变传感器†

仿生传感器技术始终优于现有的人类技术。蝎子，特别是森林蝎子，具有独特的检测细微振动的能力，这归因于其腿上的微裂纹形缝隙。在这里，典型蝎子（Heterometrus petersii）的生物传感机制为了重新设计和显着改进柔性应变传感器，我们进行了深入研究。得益于聚苯乙烯（PS）的易开裂特性，并使用溶剂诱导的溶胀以及双模板转移方法，在聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）之上成功地制造了规则且可控的微裂纹阵列。使用此方法，可以有效避免对PDMS的任何物理损坏。幸运的是，在这项工作中制作的这种具有生物启发性的裂缝阵列还具有类似于蝎子狭缝状的锯齿状的放射状图案，这是另一个出乎意料的模仿。当应变为2％时，传感器的规格因子（GF）保守估计为5888.89，响应时间为297 ms。之后，结果表明，受生物启发的常规微裂纹阵列还可以显着提高传统应变传感器的性能，尤其是在灵敏度和响应时间方面。在这项工作中还测试了诸如人体运动检测和表面折叠检测等实际应用，结果显示了在许多领域中的巨大潜在应用。这项工作将某些受损产品上的传统废裂缝转变成对超灵敏机械传感器有用的东西。而且，利用这种制造技术，我们可以轻松实现先进，生物标记传感器的简单，低成本和大规模制造。诸如人体运动检测和表面折叠之类的检测也已在这项工作中进行了测试，结果显示了其在许多领域中的巨大潜在应用。这项工作将某些受损产品上的传统废裂缝转变成对超灵敏机械传感器有用的东西。此外，利用这种制造技术，我们可以轻松实现先进，生物标记传感器的简单，低成本和大规模制造。诸如人体运动检测和表面折叠之类的检测也已在这项工作中进行了测试，结果显示了在许多领域中的巨大潜在应用。这项工作将某些受损产品上的传统废裂缝转变成对超灵敏机械传感器有用的东西。而且，利用这种制造技术，我们可以轻松实现先进，生物标记传感器的简单，低成本和大规模制造。