Skin-Inspired Self-Aligned Silicon Nanowire Thermoreceptors for Rapid and Continuous Temperature Monitoring.

Abstract

Real-time and precise evaluation of human body temperature offers crucial insights for health monitoring and disease diagnosis, while integration of high-performance and miniaturized sensors remains a challenge. Inspired by the thermal sensory pathway of skin, here we developed a new route for scalable fabrication of rapid-response and miniaturized thermoreceptor sensors using self-aligned in-plane silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays as sensitive channels. These SiNW arrays, with a diameter of 100 ± 14 nm, were integrated into temperature sensors with a density of 445 devices/cm² without using any high-precision lithography. The sensors exhibited an excellent temperature coefficient of resistance of -1.8%/°C, enabling the precise spatial identification of heat sources. They achieved real-time monitoring of temperature changes during breathing and blowing activities, with a rapid response time of ∼0.2 s and recovery time of ∼1 s. This study provides a robust foundation for the integration of advanced miniaturized temperature sensors for biological monitoring applications.