▎ 摘 要
Sensor designs found in nature are optimal due to their evolution over millions of years, making them well-suited for sensing applications. However, replicating these complex, three-dimensional (3D), biomimetic designs in artificial and flexible sensors using conventional techniques such as lithography is challenging. In this paper, we introduce a new processing paradigm for the simplified fabrication of flexible sensors featuring complex and bioinspired structures. The proposed fabrication workflow entailed 3D-printing a metallic mold with complex and intricate 3D features such as a micropillar and a microchannel, casting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) inside the mold to obtain the desired structure, and drop-casting piezoresistive graphene nanoplatelets into the predesigned microchannel to form a flexible strain gauge. The graphene-on-PDMS strain gauge showed a high gauge factor of 37 as measured via cyclical tension-compression tests. The processing workflow was used to fabricate a flow sensor inspired by hair-like cilia' sensors found in nature, which comprised a cilia-inspired pillar and a cantilever with a microchannel that housed the graphene strain gauge. The sensor showed good sensitivity against both tactile and water flow stimuli, with detection thresholds as low as 12 mu m in the former and 58 mm/s in the latter, demonstrating the feasibility of our method in developing flexible flow sensors.