Scientists have created a new kind of “electronic skin” — a super thin, flexible, and breathable device that sticks comfortably to the human body and can monitor health signals with high accuracy.
This breakthrough, developed by a team from DGIST, Hanbat National University, and Kyungpook National University, was recently published in Materials Today.
Electronic skin, or e-skin, is designed to act like a second layer of skin.
It can track things like heartbeat, muscle activity, or body temperature without needing bulky devices or uncomfortable attachments.
For e-skin to work well, it must fit smoothly against the contours of the body while also allowing the skin underneath to breathe.
Without breathability, sweat and moisture can get trapped, causing irritation or inflammation during long-term use. This is why nanomesh materials — thin nets made of polymer nanofibers — are becoming an exciting option. They are light, airy, and allow air and moisture to pass through easily.
But although nanomesh has great potential, it has been difficult to use in actual electronic devices.
The fibers make the surface uneven, and the material cannot withstand high temperatures used in traditional microfabrication, which is necessary for creating tiny, precise electronic circuits.
To solve this, the research team used an approach inspired by semiconductor manufacturing. Instead of building the circuits directly on the fragile nanomesh, they first created them on another surface and then transferred them onto the nanomesh.
This indirect transfer method allowed the researchers to produce high-resolution electronic patterns without damaging the delicate material.
The results were impressive. Traditional nanomesh electrodes need to be at least 100 nanometers thick to maintain conductivity. The new design works even when the electrodes are thinner than 20 nanometers.
Despite being ultra-thin, these electrodes are durable, stable, and able to perform under challenging conditions. They can bend sharply — down to a tiny 0.5 mm radius — and resist damage from water, acetone, hydrogen peroxide, and even the heat and humidity naturally found on human skin.
These qualities make the new nanomesh electrodes ideal for future e-skin applications. They could lead to wearable devices that feel like nothing on the skin while providing continuous, accurate health monitoring.
Professor Seongwon Lee explains that breathable, high-resolution electrodes are essential for next-generation wearables and that this development brings the field much closer to commercial reality. In the future, this technology could support more comfortable medical sensors, advanced prosthetics, and even soft robotics that interact gently with people.
Source: KSR.
