By virtue of their wide applications in personal electronic devices and industrial monitoring, pressure sensors are attractive candidates for promoting the advancement of science and technology in modern society. Flexible pressure sensors based on organic materials, which combine unique advantages of flexibility and low-cost, have emerged as a highly active field due to their promising applications in artificial intelligence systems and wearable health care devices. In this review, we focus on the fundamentals of flexible pressure sensors, and subsequently on several critical concepts for the exploration of functional materials and optimization of sensing devices toward practical applications.Perspectives on self-powered, transparent and implantable pressure sensing devices are also examined to highlight the development directions in this exciting research field.

The utilization of organic devices as pressure-sensing elements in artificial intelligence and healthcare applications represents a fascinating opportunity for the next-generation electronic products. To satisfy the critical requirements of these promising applications, the low-cost construction of large-area ultra-sensitive organic pressure devices with outstanding flexibility is highly desired. Here we present flexible suspended gate organic thin-film transistors (SGOTFTs) as a model platform that enables ultra-sensitive pressure detection. More importantly, the unique device geometry of SGOTFTs allows the fine-tuning of their sensitivity by the suspended gate. An unprecedented sensitivity of 192 kPa À 1 , a low limit-of-detection pressure of o0.5 Pa and a short response time of 10 ms were successfully realized, allowing the real-time detection of acoustic waves. These excellent sensing properties of SGOTFTs, together with their advantages of facile large-area fabrication and versatility in detecting various pressure signals, make SGOTFTs a powerful strategy for spatial pressure mapping in practical applications.