Recent Developments in Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors: Materials, Architectures, and Applications (2018–2024)

Abstract

Piezoresistive pressure sensors (PPS) remain the workhorse of pressure sensing across industries owing to their simple readout, CMOS-compatibility, and wide dynamic range. Over the past five years, PPS research has accelerated along three vectors: (i) materials innovation spanning silicon-on-insulator (SOI), wide–band-gap semiconductors (SiC), 2D materials (graphene, MoS₂), MXenes, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and conductive polymer nanocomposites; (ii) micro/nano-architectures that amplify gauge factor via crack engineering, hierarchical porosity, and microdome/pyramidal elastomeric structures; and (iii) application-driven designs for flexible/wearable e-skins, harsh environments (≥300 °C), and miniature biomedical catheters/microfluidics. This review synthesizes developments from roughly 2018–2024, covering device physics, fabrication, performance benchmarks (sensitivity, limit of detection, drift, hysteresis, bandwidth), temperature compensation, reliability, and system-level integration. We conclude with open challenges—standardized benchmarking, long-term stability, temperature/creep mitigation, and sustainable manufacturing—and outline promising research directions including printable PPS, multi-modal fusion, AI-assisted calibration, and biodegradable/implantable platforms.