Flexible pressure sensors demonstrate promising potential in human–machine interfaces, wearable devices, and implantable electronics. In this study, a highly sensitive pressure sensor was developed, comprising a polyimide substrate with a high-density micropyramid array (HD-μPA), an active piezoelectric component of poly­(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) [P­(VDF-TrFE)]/barium titanate (BTO) nanofiber mat, and silver nanowires (AgNWs) as the top electrode. A mold for imprinting of polyimide HD-μPA was fabricated by an ultraprecision microgroove fly cutting process, which can obtain μPA with a higher density than the mold fabricated by anisotropic wet etching of silicon. The piezoelectric output of the HD-μPA-based pressure sensor was approximately 1.7 times higher than that of the sensor with a flat substrate. The improved sensitivity of the sensor was attributed to the stress concentration effect of HD-μPA and elastic modulus mismatch between the polyimide HD-μPA and the P­(VDF-TrFE)/BTO nanofiber mat. A pressure detection limit as low as 0.6 Pa was achieved for the HD-μPA-based pressure sensor, showing many potential applications in flexible electronics.

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Micro/nanostructured components play an important role in micro-optics and optical engineering, tribology and surface engineering, and biological and biomedical engineering, among other fields. Precision glass molding technology is the most efficient method of manufacturing micro/nanostructured glass components, the premise of which is meld manufacturing with complementary micro/nanostructures. Numerous mold manufacturing methods have been developed to fabricate extremely small and high-quality micro/nanostructures to satisfy the demands of functional micro/nanostructured glass components for various applications. Moreover, the service performance of the mold should also be carefully considered. This paper reviews a variety of technologies for manufacturing micro/nanostructured molds. The authors begin with an introduction of the extreme requirements of mold materials. The following section provides a detailed survey of the existing micro/nanostructured mold manufacturing techniques and their corresponding mold materials, including nonmechanical and mechanical methods. This paper concludes with a detailed discussion of the authors recent research on nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) mold manufacturing and its service performance.

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