Liquid Metal-Based Angle Detection Sensor

Abstract

Liquid metal (LM) as the universal artificial biomimeticsensorymaterial has attracted much interest in academic and industrial applications,such as soft robots, flexible electronics, and micro-nano devices.It remains a pivotal challenge to develop a stable and highly sensitiveangle detection with a rapid response. Herein, we present an LM-basedangle detection sensor. Ga-based LM is gradually injected into hollowfibers with rough internal structures, resulting in a gradient ofLM content inside the fibers due to the synergistic effect of pressuredrop and the fast formation of an oxide film on its surface. The LMis affected by the gravity pressure when the fiber is tilted, andthe Laplace pressure on the surface of the LM continuously reachesan equilibrium state to induce the continuous deformation of the LM.The proposed sensor with highly sensitive to the tilt angle and showcasesa linear relation with the tilt angle. For its advantages, this workshows a great potential application in sensor fields and opens routesfor the application of electronic whiskers.