Use of self-sensing piezoresistive Si cantilever sensor for determining carbon nanoparticle mass

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, H. S.; Merzsch, S.; Stranz, A.; Waag, A.; Uhde, E.; Kirsch, I.; Salthammer, T.; Peiner, E.

2011-06-01

A silicon cantilever with slender geometry based Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) for nanoparticles mass detection is presented in this work. The cantilever is actuated using a piezoactuator at the bottom end of the cantilever supporting frame. The oscillation of the microcantilever is detected by a self-sensing method utilizing an integrated full Wheatstone bridge as a piezoresistive strain gauge for signal read out. Fabricated piezoresistive cantilevers of 1.5 mm long, 30 μm wide and 25 μm thick have been employed. This self-sensing cantilever is used due to its simplicity, portability, high-sensitivity and low-cost batch microfabrication. In order to investigate air pollution sampling, a nanoparticles collection test of the piezoresistive cantilever sensor is performed in a sealed glass chamber with a stable carbon aerosol inside. The function principle of cantilever sensor is based on detecting the resonance frequency shift that is directly induced by an additional carbon nanoparticles mass deposited on it. The deposition of particles is enhanced by an electrostatic field. The frequency measurement is performed off-line under normal atmospheric conditions, before and after carbon nanoparticles sampling. The calculated equivalent mass-induced resonance frequency shift of the experiment is measured to be 11.78 +/- 0.01 ng and a mass sensitivity of 8.33 Hz/ng is obtained. The proposed sensor exhibits an effective mass of 2.63 μg, a resonance frequency of 43.92 kHz, and a quality factor of 1230.68 +/- 78.67. These results and analysis indicate that the proposed self-sensing piezoresistive silicon cantilever can offer the necessary potential for a mobile nanoparticles monitor.

Nanomechanical resonant structures in single-crystal diamond

OpenAIRE

Burek, Michael J.; Ramos, Daniel; Patel, Parth; Frank, Ian W.; Lončar, Marko

2013-01-01

With its host of outstanding material properties, single-crystal diamond is an attractive material for nanomechanical systems. Here, the mechanical resonance characteristics of freestanding, single-crystal diamond nanobeams fabricated by an angled-etching methodology are reported. Resonance frequencies displayed evidence of significant compressive stress in doubly clamped diamond nanobeams, while cantilever resonance modes followed the expected inverse-length-squared trend. Q-factors on the o...

A DVD-ROM based high-throughput cantilever sensing platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bosco, Filippo

and October 2011. The project was part of the Xsense research network, funded by the Strategic Danish Research Council, and supervised by Prof. Anja Boisen. The goal of the Xsense project is to design and fabricate a compact and cheap device for explosive sensing in air and liquid. Four different technologies...... of a high-throughput label-free sensor platform utilizing cantilever based sensors. These sensors have often been acclaimed to facilitate highly parallelized operation. Unfortunately, so far no concept has been presented which offers large data sets as well as easy liquid sample handling. We use optics...... and mechanics from a DVD player to handle liquid samples and to read-out cantilever deflection and resonant frequency. In a few minutes, several liquid samples can be analyzed in parallel, measuring over several hundreds of individual cantilevers. Three generations of systems have been developed and tested...

Nanomechanical recognition of prognostic biomarker suPAR with DVD-ROM optical technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bache, Michael; Bosco, Filippo; Brøgger, Anna Line

2013-01-01

In this work the use of a high-throughput nanomechanical detection system based on a DVD-ROM optical drive and cantilever sensors is presented for the detection of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor inflammatory biomarker (uPAR). Several large scale studies have linked elevated levels...

Photothermal cantilever deflection spectroscopy of a photosensitive polymer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, Minhyuk; Lee, Dongkyu; Jung, Namchul; Jeon, Sangmin [Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seonghwan; Chae, Inseok; Thundat, Thomas [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2V4 (Canada)

2012-05-14

The mechanical and chemical information of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film on a microcantilever were simultaneously acquired by photothermal cantilever deflection spectroscopy as a function of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation time. Nanomechanical infrared (IR) spectra from the PMMA-coated microcantilever agreed well with the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of PMMA on gold-coated silicon wafer. The decreasing intensities of nanomechanical IR peaks represent chemical as well as mechanical information of UV radiation-induced photodegradation processes in the PMMA which cannot be obtained by a conventional FTIR technique. The observed decrease in the resonance frequency of the microcantilever is related to the change in the Young's modulus of the PMMA under UV exposure.

Characterizing Vibrating Cantilevers for Liquid Viscosity and Density Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernhard Jakoby

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Miniaturized liquid sensors are essential devices in online process or condition monitoring. In case of viscosity and density sensing, microacoustic sensors such as quartz crystal resonators or SAW devices have proved particularly useful. However, these devices basically measure a thin-film viscosity, which is often not comparable to the macroscopic parameters probed by conventional viscometers. Miniaturized cantilever-based devices are interesting alternatives for such applications, but here the interaction between the liquid and the oscillating beam is more involved. In our contribution, we describe a measurement setup, which allows the investigation of this interaction for different beam cross-sections. We present an analytical model based on an approximation of the immersed cantilever as an oscillating sphere comprising the effective mass and the intrinsic damping of the cantilever and additional mass and damping due to the liquid loading. The model parameters are obtained from measurements with well-known sample liquids by a curve fitting procedure. Finally, we present the measurement of viscosity and density of an unknown sample liquid, demonstrating the feasibility of the model.

Simultaneous topography imaging and broadband nanomechanical mapping on atomic force microscope

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianwei; Zou, Qingze

2017-12-01

In this paper, an approach is proposed to achieve simultaneous imaging and broadband nanomechanical mapping of soft materials in air by using an atomic force microscope. Simultaneous imaging and nanomechanical mapping are needed, for example, to correlate the morphological and mechanical evolutions of the sample during dynamic phenomena such as the cell endocytosis process. Current techniques for nanomechanical mapping, however, are only capable of capturing static elasticity of the material, or the material viscoelasticity in a narrow frequency band around the resonant frequency(ies) of the cantilever used, not competent for broadband nanomechanical mapping, nor acquiring topography image of the sample simultaneously. These limitations are addressed in this work by enabling the augmentation of an excitation force stimuli of rich frequency spectrum for nanomechanical mapping in the imaging process. Kalman-filtering technique is exploited to decouple and split the mixed signals for imaging and mapping, respectively. Then the sample indentation generated is quantified online via a system-inversion method, and the effects of the indentation generated and the topography tracking error on the topography quantification are taken into account. Moreover, a data-driven feedforward-feedback control is utilized to track the sample topography. The proposed approach is illustrated through experimental implementation on a polydimethylsiloxane sample with a pre-fabricated pattern.

Resonant-cantilever bio/chemical sensors with an integrated heater for both resonance exciting optimization and sensing repeatability enhancement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Haitao; Li Xinxin; Gan Xiaohua; Liu Yongjing; Liu Xiang; Xu Pengcheng; Li Jungang; Liu Min

2009-01-01

With an integrated resonance exciting heater and a self-sensing piezoresistor, resonant micro-cantilever bio/chemical sensors are optimally designed and fabricated by micromachining techniques. This study is emphasized on the optimization of the integrated heating resistor. Previous research has put the heater at either the cantilever clamp end, the midpoint or the free end. Aiming at sufficiently high and stable resonant amplitude, our research indicates that the optimized location of the thermal-electric exciting resistor is the clamp end instead of other positions. By both theoretical analysis and resonance experiments where three heating resistors are placed at the three locations of the fabricated cantilever, it is clarified that the clamp end heating provides the most efficient resonance excitation in terms of resonant amplitude, Q-factor and resonance stability. Besides, the optimized combination of dc bias and ac voltage is determined by both analysis and experimental verification. With the optimized heating excitation, the resonant cantilever is used for biotin–avidin-specific detection, resulting in a ±0.1 Hz ultra-low noise floor of the frequency signal and a 130 fg mass resolution. In addition to resonance excitation, the heater is used to heat up the cantilever for speed-up desorption after detection that helps rapid and repeated sensing to chemical vapor. The clamp end is determined (by simulation) as the optimal heating location for uniform temperature distribution on the cantilever. Using the resonant cantilever, a rapid and repeated sensing experiment on dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) vapor shows that a short-period heating at the detection interval significantly quickens the signal recovery and enhances the sensing repeatability

SU-8 cantilevers for bio/chemical sensing; Fabrication, characterisation and development of novel read-out methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordström, M.; Keller, Stephan Urs; Lillemose, Michael

2008-01-01

Here, we present the activities within our research group over the last five years with cantilevers fabricated in the polymer SU-8. We believe that SU-8 is an interesting polymer for fabrication of cantilevers for bio/chemical sensing due to its simple processing and low Young's modulus. We show...

Fast, High Resolution, and Wide Modulus Range Nanomechanical Mapping with Bimodal Tapping Mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Kocun, Marta; Labuda, Aleksander; Meinhold, Waiman; Revenko, Irène; Proksch, Roger

2017-10-24

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), also known as amplitude modulated (AM) or AC mode, is a proven, reliable, and gentle imaging mode with widespread applications. Over the several decades that tapping mode has been in use, quantification of tip-sample mechanical properties such as stiffness has remained elusive. Bimodal tapping mode keeps the advantages of single-frequency tapping mode while extending the technique by driving and measuring an additional resonant mode of the cantilever. The simultaneously measured observables of this additional resonance provide the additional information necessary to extract quantitative nanomechanical information about the tip-sample mechanics. Specifically, driving the higher cantilever resonance in a frequency modulated (FM) mode allows direct measurement of the tip-sample interaction stiffness and, with appropriate modeling, the set point-independent local elastic modulus. Here we discuss the advantages of bimodal tapping, coined AM-FM imaging, for modulus mapping. Results are presented for samples over a wide modulus range, from a compliant gel (∼100 MPa) to stiff materials (∼100 GPa), with the same type of cantilever. We also show high-resolution (subnanometer) stiffness mapping of individual molecules in semicrystalline polymers and of DNA in fluid. Combined with the ability to remain quantitative even at line scan rates of nearly 40 Hz, the results demonstrate the versatility of AM-FM imaging for nanomechanical characterization in a wide range of applications.

Continuous depth-sensing nano-mechanical characterization of living, fixed and dehydrated cells attached on a glass substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yun-Ta; Liao, Jiunn-Der; Chang, Chia-Wei [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Lin, Chou-Ching K [Department of Neurology, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Ju, Ming-Shaung, E-mail: jdliao@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China)

2010-07-16

Continuous depth-sensing nano-indentation on living, fixed and dehydrated fibroblast cells was performed using a dynamic contact module and vertically measured from a pre-contact state to the glass substrate. The nano-indentation tip-on-cell approaches took advantage of finding a contact surface, followed by obtaining a continuous nano-mechanical profile along the nano-indentation depths. In the experiment, serial indentations from the leading edge, i.e., the lamellipodium to nucleus regions of living, fixed and dehydrated fibroblast cells were examined. Nano-indentations on a living cell anchored upon glass substrate were competent in finding the tip-on-cell contact surfaces and cell heights. For the result on the fixed and the dehydrated cells, cellular nano-mechanical properties were clearly characterized by continuous harmonic contact stiffness (HCS) measurements. The relations of HCS versus measured displacement, varied from the initial tip-on-cell contact to the glass substrate, were presumably divided into three stages, respectively induced by cellular intrinsic behavior, the substrate-dominant property, and the substrate property. This manifestation is beneficial to elucidate how the underlying substrate influences the interpretation of the nano-mechanical property of thin soft matter on a hard substrate. These findings, based upon continuous depth-sensing nano-indentations, are presumably valuable as a reference to related work, e.g., accomplished by atomic force microscopy.

Continuous depth-sensing nano-mechanical characterization of living, fixed and dehydrated cells attached on a glass substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yun-Ta; Liao, Jiunn-Der; Chang, Chia-Wei; Lin, Chou-Ching K; Ju, Ming-Shaung

2010-01-01

Continuous depth-sensing nano-indentation on living, fixed and dehydrated fibroblast cells was performed using a dynamic contact module and vertically measured from a pre-contact state to the glass substrate. The nano-indentation tip-on-cell approaches took advantage of finding a contact surface, followed by obtaining a continuous nano-mechanical profile along the nano-indentation depths. In the experiment, serial indentations from the leading edge, i.e., the lamellipodium to nucleus regions of living, fixed and dehydrated fibroblast cells were examined. Nano-indentations on a living cell anchored upon glass substrate were competent in finding the tip-on-cell contact surfaces and cell heights. For the result on the fixed and the dehydrated cells, cellular nano-mechanical properties were clearly characterized by continuous harmonic contact stiffness (HCS) measurements. The relations of HCS versus measured displacement, varied from the initial tip-on-cell contact to the glass substrate, were presumably divided into three stages, respectively induced by cellular intrinsic behavior, the substrate-dominant property, and the substrate property. This manifestation is beneficial to elucidate how the underlying substrate influences the interpretation of the nano-mechanical property of thin soft matter on a hard substrate. These findings, based upon continuous depth-sensing nano-indentations, are presumably valuable as a reference to related work, e.g., accomplished by atomic force microscopy.

SU-8 Cantilevers for Bio/chemical Sensing; Fabrication, Characterisation and Development of Novel Read-out Methods

OpenAIRE

Anja Boisen; Mogens Havsteen-Jakobsen; Gabriela Blagoi; Daniel Haefliger; Søren Dohn; Alicia Johansson; Michael Lillemose; Stephan Keller; Maria Nordström

2008-01-01

Here, we present the activities within our research group over the last five years with cantilevers fabricated in the polymer SU-8. We believe that SU-8 is an interesting polymer for fabrication of cantilevers for bio/chemical sensing due to its simple processing and low Young's modulus. We show examples of different integrated read-out methods and their characterisation. We also show that SU-8 cantilevers have a reduced sensitivity to changes in the environmental temperature and pH of the bu...

SU-8 Cantilevers for Bio/chemical Sensing; Fabrication, Characterisation and Development of Novel Read-out Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anja Boisen

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Here, we present the activities within our research group over the last five yearswith cantilevers fabricated in the polymer SU-8. We believe that SU-8 is an interestingpolymer for fabrication of cantilevers for bio/chemical sensing due to its simple processingand low Young’s modulus. We show examples of different integrated read-out methodsand their characterisation. We also show that SU-8 cantilevers have a reduced sensitivity tochanges in the environmental temperature and pH of the buffer solution. Moreover, weshow that the SU-8 cantilever surface can be functionalised directly with receptormolecules for analyte detection, thereby avoiding gold-thiol chemistry.

Piezoelectric cantilever sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Wan Y. (Inventor); Shih, Wei-Heng (Inventor); Shen, Zuyan (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A piezoelectric cantilever with a non-piezoelectric, or piezoelectric tip useful as mass and viscosity sensors. The change in the cantilever mass can be accurately quantified by monitoring a resonance frequency shift of the cantilever. For bio-detection, antibodies or other specific receptors of target antigens may be immobilized on the cantilever surface, preferably on the non-piezoelectric tip. For chemical detection, high surface-area selective absorbent materials are coated on the cantilever tip. Binding of the target antigens or analytes to the cantilever surface increases the cantilever mass. Detection of target antigens or analytes is achieved by monitoring the cantilever's resonance frequency and determining the resonance frequency shift that is due to the mass of the adsorbed target antigens on the cantilever surface. The use of a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever allows both electrical actuation and electrical sensing. Incorporating a non-piezoelectric tip (14) enhances the sensitivity of the sensor. In addition, the piezoelectric cantilever can withstand damping in highly viscous liquids and can be used as a viscosity sensor in wide viscosity range.

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO2 surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ying; Xu, Pengcheng; Li, Xinxin

2010-07-02

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO(2) surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO(2) cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO2 surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ying; Xu Pengcheng; Li Xinxin

2010-01-01

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO 2 surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO 2 cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Biosensors based on cantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Mar; Carrascosa, Laura G; Zinoviev, Kiril; Plaza, Jose A; Lechuga, Laura M

2009-01-01

Microcantilevers based-biosensors are a new label-free technique that allows the direct detection of biomolecular interactions in a label-less way and with great accuracy by translating the biointeraction into a nanomechanical motion. Low cost and reliable standard silicon technologies are widely used for the fabrication of cantilevers with well-controlled mechanical properties. Over the last years, the number of applications of these sensors has shown a fast growth in diverse fields, such as genomic or proteomic, because of the biosensor flexibility, the low sample consumption, and the non-pretreated samples required. In this chapter, we report a dedicated design and a fabrication process of highly sensitive microcantilever silicon sensors. We will describe as well an application of the device in the environmental field showing the immunodetection of an organic toxic pesticide as an example. The cantilever biofunctionalization process and the subsequent pesticide determination are detected in real time by monitoring the nanometer-scale bending of the microcantilever due to a differential surface stress generated between both surfaces of the device.

Spring constant calibration of atomic force microscope cantilevers of arbitrary shape

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sader, John E. [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Kavli Nanoscience Institute and Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Sanelli, Julian A.; Adamson, Brian D.; Bieske, Evan J. [School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Monty, Jason P.; Marusic, Ivan [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Wei Xingzhan; Mulvaney, Paul [School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Crawford, Simon A. [School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Friend, James R. [Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); MicroNanophysics Research Laboratory, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001 (Australia)

2012-10-15

The spring constant of an atomic force microscope cantilever is often needed for quantitative measurements. The calibration method of Sader et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70, 3967 (1999)] for a rectangular cantilever requires measurement of the resonant frequency and quality factor in fluid (typically air), and knowledge of its plan view dimensions. This intrinsically uses the hydrodynamic function for a cantilever of rectangular plan view geometry. Here, we present hydrodynamic functions for a series of irregular and non-rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers that are commonly used in practice. Cantilever geometries of arrow shape, small aspect ratio rectangular, quasi-rectangular, irregular rectangular, non-ideal trapezoidal cross sections, and V-shape are all studied. This enables the spring constants of all these cantilevers to be accurately and routinely determined through measurement of their resonant frequency and quality factor in fluid (such as air). An approximate formulation of the hydrodynamic function for microcantilevers of arbitrary geometry is also proposed. Implementation of the method and its performance in the presence of uncertainties and non-idealities is discussed, together with conversion factors for the static and dynamic spring constants of these cantilevers. These results are expected to be of particular value to the design and application of micro- and nanomechanical systems in general.

Spring constant calibration of atomic force microscope cantilevers of arbitrary shape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sader, John E.; Sanelli, Julian A.; Adamson, Brian D.; Bieske, Evan J.; Monty, Jason P.; Marusic, Ivan; Wei Xingzhan; Mulvaney, Paul; Crawford, Simon A.; Friend, James R.

2012-01-01

The spring constant of an atomic force microscope cantilever is often needed for quantitative measurements. The calibration method of Sader et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70, 3967 (1999)] for a rectangular cantilever requires measurement of the resonant frequency and quality factor in fluid (typically air), and knowledge of its plan view dimensions. This intrinsically uses the hydrodynamic function for a cantilever of rectangular plan view geometry. Here, we present hydrodynamic functions for a series of irregular and non-rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers that are commonly used in practice. Cantilever geometries of arrow shape, small aspect ratio rectangular, quasi-rectangular, irregular rectangular, non-ideal trapezoidal cross sections, and V-shape are all studied. This enables the spring constants of all these cantilevers to be accurately and routinely determined through measurement of their resonant frequency and quality factor in fluid (such as air). An approximate formulation of the hydrodynamic function for microcantilevers of arbitrary geometry is also proposed. Implementation of the method and its performance in the presence of uncertainties and non-idealities is discussed, together with conversion factors for the static and dynamic spring constants of these cantilevers. These results are expected to be of particular value to the design and application of micro- and nanomechanical systems in general.

MEMS-based silicon cantilevers with integrated electrothermal heaters for airborne ultrafine particle sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Merzsch, Stephan; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2013-05-01

The development of low-cost and low-power MEMS-based cantilever sensors for possible application in hand-held airborne ultrafine particle monitors is described in this work. The proposed resonant sensors are realized by silicon bulk micromachining technology with electrothermal excitation, piezoresistive frequency readout, and electrostatic particle collection elements integrated and constructed in the same sensor fabrication process step of boron diffusion. Built-in heating resistor and full Wheatstone bridge are set close to the cantilever clamp end for effective excitation and sensing, respectively, of beam deflection. Meanwhile, the particle collection electrode is located at the cantilever free end. A 300 μm-thick, phosphorus-doped silicon bulk wafer is used instead of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) as the starting material for the sensors to reduce the fabrication costs. To etch and release the cantilevers from the substrate, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) cryogenic dry etching is utilized. By controlling the etching parameters (e.g., temperature, oxygen content, and duration), cantilever structures with thicknesses down to 10 - 20 μm are yielded. In the sensor characterization, the heating resistor is heated and generating thermal waves which induce thermal expansion and further cause mechanical bending strain in the out-of-plane direction. A resonant frequency of 114.08 +/- 0.04 kHz and a quality factor of 1302 +/- 267 are measured in air for a fabricated rectangular cantilever (500x100x13.5 μm3). Owing to its low power consumption of a few milliwatts, this electrothermal cantilever is suitable for replacing the current external piezoelectric stack actuator in the next generation of the miniaturized cantilever-based nanoparticle detector (CANTOR).

Design optimization of piezoresistive cantilevers for force sensing in air and water

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C.; Park, Sung-Jin; Pruitt, Beth L.

2009-01-01

Piezoresistive cantilevers fabricated from doped silicon or metal films are commonly used for force, topography, and chemical sensing at the micro- and macroscales. Proper design is required to optimize the achievable resolution by maximizing sensitivity while simultaneously minimizing the integrated noise over the bandwidth of interest. Existing analytical design methods are insufficient for modeling complex dopant profiles, design constraints, and nonlinear phenomena such as damping in fluid. Here we present an optimization method based on an analytical piezoresistive cantilever model. We use an existing iterative optimizer to minimimize a performance goal, such as minimum detectable force. The design tool is available as open source software. Optimal cantilever design and performance are found to strongly depend on the measurement bandwidth and the constraints applied. We discuss results for silicon piezoresistors fabricated by epitaxy and diffusion, but the method can be applied to any dopant profile or material which can be modeled in a similar fashion or extended to other microelectromechanical systems. PMID:19865512

Nanomechanical recognition of prognostic biomarker suPAR with DVD-ROM optical technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bache, Michael; Bosco, Filippo G; Brøgger, Anna L; Frøhling, Kasper B; Boisen, Anja; Alstrøm, Tommy Sonne; Hwu, En-Te; Chen, Ching-Hsiu; Hwang, Ing-Shouh; Eugen-Olsen, Jesper

2013-01-01

In this work the use of a high-throughput nanomechanical detection system based on a DVD-ROM optical drive and cantilever sensors is presented for the detection of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor inflammatory biomarker (uPAR). Several large scale studies have linked elevated levels of soluble uPAR (suPAR) to infectious diseases, such as HIV, and certain types of cancer. Using hundreds of cantilevers and a DVD-based platform, cantilever deflection response from antibody–antigen recognition is investigated as a function of suPAR concentration. The goal is to provide a cheap and portable detection platform which can carry valuable prognostic information. In order to optimize the cantilever response the antibody immobilization and unspecific binding are initially characterized using quartz crystal microbalance technology. Also, the choice of antibody is explored in order to generate the largest surface stress on the cantilevers, thus increasing the signal. Using optimized experimental conditions the lowest detectable suPAR concentration is currently around 5 nM. The results reveal promising research strategies for the implementation of specific biochemical assays in a portable and high-throughput microsensor-based detection platform. (paper)

The inverse problem of sensing the mass and force induced by an adsorbate on a beam nanomechanical resonator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yun [Faculty of Information and Automation, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province 65005 (China); Zhang, Yin [State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 (China)

2016-06-08

The mass sensing superiority of a micro/nanomechanical resonator sensor over conventional mass spectrometry has been, or at least, is being firmly established. Because the sensing mechanism of a mechanical resonator sensor is the shifts of resonant frequencies, how to link the shifts of resonant frequencies with the material properties of an analyte formulates an inverse problem. Besides the analyte/adsorbate mass, many other factors such as position and axial force can also cause the shifts of resonant frequencies. The in-situ measurement of the adsorbate position and axial force is extremely difficult if not impossible, especially when an adsorbate is as small as a molecule or an atom. Extra instruments are also required. In this study, an inverse problem of using three resonant frequencies to determine the mass, position and axial force is formulated and solved. The accuracy of the inverse problem solving method is demonstrated and how the method can be used in the real application of a nanomechanical resonator is also discussed. Solving the inverse problem is helpful to the development and application of mechanical resonator sensor on two things: reducing extra experimental equipments and achieving better mass sensing by considering more factors.

Cantilever-based sensing: the origin of surface stress and optimization strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godin, Michel; Tabard-Cossa, Vincent; Miyahara, Yoichi; Grutter, Peter; Monga, Tanya; Bruce Lennox, R; Williams, P J; Beaulieu, L Y

2010-01-01

Many interactions drive the adsorption of molecules on surfaces, all of which can result in a measurable change in surface stress. This article compares the contributions of various possible interactions to the overall induced surface stress for cantilever-based sensing applications. The surface stress resulting from adsorption-induced changes in the electronic density of the underlying surface is up to 2-4 orders of magnitude larger than that resulting from intermolecular electrostatic or Lennard-Jones interactions. We reveal that the surface stress associated with the formation of high quality alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on gold surfaces is independent of the molecular chain length, supporting our theoretical findings. This provides a foundation for the development of new strategies for increasing the sensitivity of cantilever-based sensors for various applications.

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO{sub 2} surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen Ying; Xu Pengcheng; Li Xinxin, E-mail: xxli@mail.sim.ac.cn [State Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2010-07-02

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO{sub 2} surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO{sub 2} cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Cantilever-like micromechanical sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boisen, Anja; Dohn, Søren; Keller, Stephan Sylvest

2011-01-01

The field of cantilever-based sensing emerged in the mid-1990s and is today a well-known technology for label-free sensing which holds promise as a technique for cheap, portable, sensitive and highly parallel analysis systems. The research in sensor realization as well as sensor applications has...... increased significantly over the past 10 years. In this review we will present the basic modes of operation in cantilever-like micromechanical sensors and discuss optical and electrical means for signal transduction. The fundamental processes for realizing miniaturized cantilevers are described with focus...... on silicon-and polymer-based technologies. Examples of recent sensor applications are given covering such diverse fields as drug discovery, food diagnostics, material characterizations and explosives detection....

An electrochemical-cantilever platform for hybrid sensing applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Lee MacKenzie; Dohn, Søren; Boisen, Anja

2011-01-01

This work presents a fully-functional, microfabricated electrochemical-cantilever hybrid platform with flow control. A new cantilever chip format is designed, fabricated, and mounted in a custom polymer flow cell. Issues such as leakage and optical/electrical access are addressed, and combined...... mechanical and electrochemical performance is investigated. Lastly, a cantilever is “defunctionalized” in situ to create a reference cantilever for differential measurements in detection of Cu2+ ions at concentrations of 10 μM and 100 nM....

Chemical sensor with oscillating cantilevered probe

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Jesse D

2013-02-05

The invention provides a method of detecting a chemical species with an oscillating cantilevered probe. A cantilevered beam is driven into oscillation with a drive mechanism coupled to the cantilevered beam. A free end of the oscillating cantilevered beam is tapped against a mechanical stop coupled to a base end of the cantilevered beam. An amplitude of the oscillating cantilevered beam is measured with a sense mechanism coupled to the cantilevered beam. A treated portion of the cantilevered beam is exposed to the chemical species, wherein the cantilevered beam bends when exposed to the chemical species. A second amplitude of the oscillating cantilevered beam is measured, and the chemical species is determined based on the measured amplitudes.

Comprehensive characterization of molecular interactions based on nanomechanics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murali Krishna Ghatkesar

Full Text Available Molecular interaction is a key concept in our understanding of the biological mechanisms of life. Two physical properties change when one molecular partner binds to another. Firstly, the masses combine and secondly, the structure of at least one binding partner is altered, mechanically transducing the binding into subsequent biological reactions. Here we present a nanomechanical micro-array technique for bio-medical research, which not only monitors the binding of effector molecules to their target but also the subsequent effect on a biological system in vitro. This label-free and real-time method directly and simultaneously tracks mass and nanomechanical changes at the sensor interface using micro-cantilever technology. To prove the concept we measured lipid vesicle (approximately 748*10(6 Da adsorption on the sensor interface followed by subsequent binding of the bee venom peptide melittin (2840 Da to the vesicles. The results show the high dynamic range of the instrument and that measuring the mass and structural changes simultaneously allow a comprehensive discussion of molecular interactions.

Evaluation of resonating Si cantilevers sputter-deposited with AlN piezoelectric thin films for mass sensing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Sökmen, Ü.; Stranz, A.; Waag, A.; Ababneh, A.; Seidel, H.; Schmid, U.; Peiner, E.

2010-06-01

We report on a micro-machined resonator for mass sensing applications which is based on a silicon cantilever excited with a sputter-deposited piezoelectric aluminium nitride (AlN) thin film actuator. An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) cryogenic dry etching process was applied for the micro-machining of the silicon substrate. A shift in resonance frequency was observed, which was proportional to a mass deposited in an e-beam evaporation process on top. We had a mass sensing limit of 5.2 ng. The measurements from the cantilevers of the two arrays revealed a quality factor of 155-298 and a mass sensitivity of 120.34 ng Hz-1 for the first array, and a quality factor of 130-137 and a mass sensitivity of 104.38 ng Hz-1 for the second array. Furthermore, we managed to fabricate silicon cantilevers, which can be improved for the detection in the picogram range due to a reduction of the geometrical dimensions.

Accurate Calibration and Uncertainty Estimation of the Normal Spring Constant of Various AFM Cantilevers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunpeng Song

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Measurement of force on a micro- or nano-Newton scale is important when exploring the mechanical properties of materials in the biophysics and nanomechanical fields. The atomic force microscope (AFM is widely used in microforce measurement. The cantilever probe works as an AFM force sensor, and the spring constant of the cantilever is of great significance to the accuracy of the measurement results. This paper presents a normal spring constant calibration method with the combined use of an electromagnetic balance and a homemade AFM head. When the cantilever presses the balance, its deflection is detected through an optical lever integrated in the AFM head. Meanwhile, the corresponding bending force is recorded by the balance. Then the spring constant can be simply calculated using Hooke’s law. During the calibration, a feedback loop is applied to control the deflection of the cantilever. Errors that may affect the stability of the cantilever could be compensated rapidly. Five types of commercial cantilevers with different shapes, stiffness, and operating modes were chosen to evaluate the performance of our system. Based on the uncertainty analysis, the expanded relative standard uncertainties of the normal spring constant of most measured cantilevers are believed to be better than 2%.

Micro‑cantilevers for optical sensing of biogenic amines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Ying; Bravo Costa, Carlos André; Sobolewska, Elżbieta Karolina

2017-01-01

molecules in the gas phase. Different functionalization conditions were investigated by immersing gold coated AFM cantilevers in cyclam solutions at different concentrations, for different functionalization times, and for different post-annealing treatments. The optimum morphology for high capture...... micro-cantilever based mass detection. We demonstrate that besides conventional AFM systems a MEMS cantilever in combination with an optical read out is a powerful analytic system which is highly attractive for widespread use in diagnostic applications, with optimized functionalization conditions...

Sensing technology for damage assessment of sign supports and cantilever poles : final report, August 31, 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-31

This report presents the results of research activities conducted under Contract No. 519691-PIT 008 on Sensing Technology for : Damage Assessment of Sign Supports and Cantilever Poles between the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania De...

A Micro-Preconcentrator Combined Olfactory Sensing System with a Micromechanical Cantilever Sensor for Detecting 2,4-Dinitrotoluene Gas Vapor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myung-Sic Chae

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Preventing unexpected explosive attacks and tracing explosion-related molecules require the development of highly sensitive gas-vapor detection systems. For that purpose, a micromechanical cantilever-based olfactory sensing system including a sample preconcentrator was developed to detect 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT, which is a well-known by-product of the explosive molecule trinitrotoluene (TNT and exists in concentrations on the order of parts per billion in the atmosphere at room temperature. A peptide receptor (His-Pro-Asn-Phe-Ser-Lys-Tyr-Ile-Leu-His-Gln-Arg that has high binding affinity for 2,4-DNT was immobilized on the surface of the cantilever sensors to detect 2,4-DNT vapor for highly selective detection. A micro-preconcentrator (µPC was developed using Tenax-TA adsorbent to produce higher concentrations of 2,4-DNT molecules. The preconcentration was achieved via adsorption and thermal desorption phenomena occurring between target molecules and the adsorbent. The µPC directly integrated with a cantilever sensor and enhanced the sensitivity of the cantilever sensor as a pretreatment tool for the target vapor. The response was rapidly saturated within 5 min and sustained for more than 10 min when the concentrated vapor was introduced. By calculating preconcentration factor values, we verified that the cantilever sensor provides up to an eightfold improvement in sensing performance.

Improving tapping mode atomic force microscopy with piezoelectric cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, B.; Manning, L.; Sulchek, T.; Adams, J.D.

2004-01-01

This article summarizes improvements to the speed, simplicity and versatility of tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). Improvements are enabled by a piezoelectric microcantilever with a sharp silicon tip and a thin, low-stress zinc oxide (ZnO) film to both actuate and sense deflection. First, we demonstrate self-sensing tapping mode without laser detection. Similar previous work has been limited by unoptimized probe tips, cantilever thicknesses, and stress in the piezoelectric films. Tests indicate self-sensing amplitude resolution is as good or better than optical detection, with double the sensitivity, using the same type of cantilever. Second, we demonstrate self-oscillating tapping mode AFM. The cantilever's integrated piezoelectric film serves as the frequency-determining component of an oscillator circuit. The circuit oscillates the cantilever near its resonant frequency by applying positive feedback to the film. We present images and force-distance curves using both self-sensing and self-oscillating techniques. Finally, high-speed tapping mode imaging in liquid, where electric components of the cantilever require insulation, is demonstrated. Three cantilever coating schemes are tested. The insulated microactuator is used to simultaneously vibrate and actuate the cantilever over topographical features. Preliminary images in water and saline are presented, including one taken at 75.5 μm/s - a threefold improvement in bandwidth versus conventional piezotube actuators

Cantilever-Based Microwave Biosensors: Analysis, Designs and Optimizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jiang, Chenhui; Johansen, Tom Keinicke; Jónasson, Sævar Þór

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel microwave readout scheme for measuring deflection of cantilevers in nanometer range. The cantilever deflection can be sensed by the variation of transmission levels or resonant frequencies of microwave signals. The sensitivity of the cantilever biosensor based on LC...

Tunable coupled nanomechanical resonators for single-electron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheible, Dominik V; Erbe, Artur; Blick, Robert H

2002-01-01

Nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) are ideal for sensor applications and ultra-sensitive force detection, since their mechanical degree of freedom at the nanometre scale can be combined with semiconductor nano-electronics. We present a system of coupled nanomechanical beam resonators in silicon which is mechanically fully Q-tunable ∼700-6000. This kind of resonator can also be employed as a mechanical charge shuttle via an insulated metallic island at the tip of an oscillating cantilever. Application of our NEMS as an electromechanical single-electron transistor (emSET) is introduced and experimental results are discussed. Three animation clips demonstrate the manufacturing process of the NEMS, the Q-tuning experiment and the concept of the emSET

Topology Optimization of Nano-Mechanical Cantilever Sensors Using a C0 Discontinuous Galerkin-Type Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marhadi, Kun Saptohartyadi; Evgrafov, Anton; Sørensen, Mads Peter

2011-01-01

We demonstrate the use of a C0 discontinuous Galerkin method for topology optimization of nano-mechanical sensors, namely temperature, surface stress, and mass sensors. The sensors are modeled using classical thin plate theory, which requires C1 basis functions in the standard finite element method...

Nanomechanics of biocompatible hollow thin-shell polymer microspheres.

Science.gov (United States)

Glynos, Emmanouil; Koutsos, Vasileios; McDicken, W Norman; Moran, Carmel M; Pye, Stephen D; Ross, James A; Sboros, Vassilis

2009-07-07

The nanomechanical properties of biocompatible thin-shell hollow polymer microspheres with approximately constant ratio of shell thickness to microsphere diameter were measured by nanocompression tests in aqueous conditions. These microspheres encapsulate an inert gas and are used as ultrasound contrast agents by releasing free microbubbles in the presence of an ultrasound field as a result of free gas leakage from the shell. The tests were performed using an atomic force microscope (AFM) employing the force-distance curve technique. An optical microscope, on which the AFM was mounted, was used to guide the positioning of tipless cantilevers on top of individual microspheres. We performed a systematic study using several cantilevers with spring constants varying from 0.08 to 2.3 N/m on a population of microspheres with diameters from about 2 to 6 microm. The use of several cantilevers with various spring constants allowed a systematic study of the mechanical properties of the microsphere thin shell at different regimes of force and deformation. Using thin-shell mechanics theory for small deformations, the Young's modulus of the thin wall material was estimated and was shown to exhibit a strong size effect: it increased as the shell became thinner. The Young's modulus of thicker microsphere shells converged to the expected value for the macroscopic bulk material. For high applied forces, the force-deformation profiles showed a reversible and/or irreversible nonlinear behavior including "steps" and "jumps" which were attributed to mechanical instabilities such as buckling events.

A Review on Surface Stress-Based Miniaturized Piezoresistive SU-8 Polymeric Cantilever Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Ribu; Ravi Sankar, A.

2018-06-01

In the last decade, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) SU-8 polymeric cantilevers with piezoresistive readout combined with the advances in molecular recognition techniques have found versatile applications, especially in the field of chemical and biological sensing. Compared to conventional solid-state semiconductor-based piezoresistive cantilever sensors, SU-8 polymeric cantilevers have advantages in terms of better sensitivity along with reduced material and fabrication cost. In recent times, numerous researchers have investigated their potential as a sensing platform due to high performance-to-cost ratio of SU-8 polymer-based cantilever sensors. In this article, we critically review the design, fabrication, and performance aspects of surface stress-based piezoresistive SU-8 polymeric cantilever sensors. The evolution of surface stress-based piezoresistive cantilever sensors from solid-state semiconductor materials to polymers, especially SU-8 polymer, is discussed in detail. Theoretical principles of surface stress generation and their application in cantilever sensing technology are also devised. Variants of SU-8 polymeric cantilevers with different composition of materials in cantilever stacks are explained. Furthermore, the interdependence of the material selection, geometrical design parameters, and fabrication process of piezoresistive SU-8 polymeric cantilever sensors and their cumulative impact on the sensor response are also explained in detail. In addition to the design-, fabrication-, and performance-related factors, this article also describes various challenges in engineering SU-8 polymeric cantilevers as a universal sensing platform such as temperature and moisture vulnerability. This review article would serve as a guideline for researchers to understand specifics and functionality of surface stress-based piezoresistive SU-8 cantilever sensors.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Integrated MEMS/NEMS Resonant Cantilevers for Ultrasensitive Biological Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinxin Li

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the recent researches implemented in Chinese Academy of Sciences, with achievements on integrated resonant microcantilever sensors. In the resonant cantilevers, the self-sensing elements and resonance exciting elements are both top-down integrated with silicon micromachining techniques. Quite a lot of effort is focused on optimization of the resonance mode and sensing structure for improvement of sensitivity. On the other hand, to enable the micro-cantilevers specifically sensitive to bio/chemical molecules, sensing materials are developed and modified on the cantilever surface with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM based bottom-up construction and surface functionalization. To improve the selectivity of the sensors and depress environmental noise, multiple and localized surface modifications are developed. The achieved volume production capability and satisfactory detecting resolution to trace-level biological antigen of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP give the micro-cantilever sensors a great promise for rapid and high-resoluble detection.

Fundamentals of nanomechanical resonators

CERN Document Server

Schmid, Silvan; Roukes, Michael Lee

2016-01-01

This authoritative book introduces and summarizes the latest models and skills required to design and optimize nanomechanical resonators, taking a top-down approach that uses macroscopic formulas to model the devices. The authors cover the electrical and mechanical aspects of nano electromechanical system (NEMS) devices. The introduced mechanical models are also key to the understanding and optimization of nanomechanical resonators used e.g. in optomechanics. Five comprehensive chapters address: The eigenmodes derived for the most common continuum mechanical structures used as nanomechanical resonators; The main sources of energy loss in nanomechanical resonators; The responsiveness of micro and nanomechanical resonators to mass, forces, and temperature; The most common underlying physical transduction mechanisms; The measurement basics, including amplitude and frequency noise. The applied approach found in this book is appropriate for engineering students and researchers working with micro and nanomechanical...

Physics-based signal processing algorithms for micromachined cantilever arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Candy, James V; Clague, David S; Lee, Christopher L; Rudd, Robert E; Burnham, Alan K; Tringe, Joseph W

2013-11-19

A method of using physics-based signal processing algorithms for micromachined cantilever arrays. The methods utilize deflection of a micromachined cantilever that represents the chemical, biological, or physical element being detected. One embodiment of the method comprises the steps of modeling the deflection of the micromachined cantilever producing a deflection model, sensing the deflection of the micromachined cantilever and producing a signal representing the deflection, and comparing the signal representing the deflection with the deflection model.

Mechanical detection and mode shape imaging of vibrational modes of micro and nanomechanical resonators by dynamic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulo, A S; GarcIa-Sanchez, D; Perez-Murano, F; Bachtold, A; Black, J; Bokor, J; Esplandiu, M J; Aguasca, A

2008-01-01

We describe a method based on the use of higher order bending modes of the cantilever of a dynamic force microscope to characterize vibrations of micro and nanomechanical resonators at arbitrarily large resonance frequencies. Our method consists on using a particular cantilever eigenmode for standard feedback control in amplitude modulation operation while another mode is used for detecting and imaging the resonator vibration. In addition, the resonating sample device is driven at or near its resonance frequency with a signal modulated in amplitude at a frequency that matches the resonance of the cantilever eigenmode used for vibration detection. In consequence, this cantilever mode is excited with an amplitude proportional to the resonator vibration, which is detected with an external lock-in amplifier. We show two different application examples of this method. In the first one, acoustic wave vibrations of a film bulk acoustic resonator around 1.6 GHz are imaged. In the second example, bending modes of carbon nanotube resonators up to 3.1 GHz are characterized. In both cases, the method provides subnanometer-scale sensitivity and the capability of providing otherwise inaccessible information about mechanical resonance frequencies, vibration amplitude values and mode shapes

High-Q, in-plane modes of nanomechanical resonators operated in air

Science.gov (United States)

Waggoner, Philip S.; Tan, Christine P.; Bellan, Leon; Craighead, Harold G.

2009-05-01

Nanomechanical resonators have traditionally been limited to use in vacuum due to low quality factors that come as a result of viscous damping effects in air or liquid. We have fabricated arrays of 90 nm thick trampoline-shaped resonators, studied their resonant frequency spectrum as a function of pressure, and found that some high frequency modes exhibit quality factors over 2000 at atmospheric pressure. We have excited the in-plane resonances of these devices, verified their identities both experimentally and with finite element modeling, and demonstrated their advantageous characteristics for ambient sensing. Even after deposition of a relatively thick polymer layer, the in-plane resonant modes still boast quality factors on the order of 2000. These results show promise for the use of nanomechanical resonant sensors in real-time atmospheric sensing applications.

Deformation of nanotubes in peeling contact with flat substrate: An in situ electron microscopy nanomechanical study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Xiaoming; Zheng, Meng; Wei, Qing; Ke, Changhong, E-mail: cke@binghamton.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000 (United States); Signetti, Stefano [Laboratory of Bio-Inspired and Graphene Nanomechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento (Italy); Pugno, Nicola M. [Laboratory of Bio-Inspired and Graphene Nanomechanics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento (Italy); Centre for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Povo (Trento) (Italy); School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London (United Kingdom)

2016-04-21

Peeling of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures from flat substrates is an essential technique in studying their adhesion properties. The mechanical deformation of the nanostructure in the peeling experiment is critical to the understanding of the peeling process and the interpretation of the peeling measurements, but it is challenging to measure directly and quantitatively at the nanoscale. Here, we investigate the peeling deformation of a bundled carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber by using an in situ scanning electron microscopy nanomechanical peeling technique. A pre-calibrated atomic force microscopy cantilever is utilized as the peeling force sensor, and its back surface acts as the peeling contact substrate. The nanomechanical peeling scheme enables a quantitative characterization of the deformational behaviors of the CNT fiber in both positive and negative peeling configurations with sub-10 nm spatial and sub-nN force resolutions. Nonlinear continuum mechanics models and finite element simulations are employed to interpret the peeling measurements. The measurements and analysis reveal that the structural imperfections in the CNT fiber may have a substantial influence on its peeling deformations and the corresponding peeling forces. The research findings reported in this work are useful to the study of mechanical and adhesion properties of 1D nanostructures by using nanomechanical peeling techniques.

Large scale electromechanical transistor with application in mass sensing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Leisheng; Li, Lijie, E-mail: L.Li@swansea.ac.uk [Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre, College of Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP (United Kingdom)

2014-12-07

Nanomechanical transistor (NMT) has evolved from the single electron transistor, a device that operates by shuttling electrons with a self-excited central conductor. The unfavoured aspects of the NMT are the complexity of the fabrication process and its signal processing unit, which could potentially be overcome by designing much larger devices. This paper reports a new design of large scale electromechanical transistor (LSEMT), still taking advantage of the principle of shuttling electrons. However, because of the large size, nonlinear electrostatic forces induced by the transistor itself are not sufficient to drive the mechanical member into vibration—an external force has to be used. In this paper, a LSEMT device is modelled, and its new application in mass sensing is postulated using two coupled mechanical cantilevers, with one of them being embedded in the transistor. The sensor is capable of detecting added mass using the eigenstate shifts method by reading the change of electrical current from the transistor, which has much higher sensitivity than conventional eigenfrequency shift approach used in classical cantilever based mass sensors. Numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the performance of the mass sensor.

Highly Tunable Electrostatic Nanomechanical Resonators

KAUST Repository

Kazmi, Syed Naveed Riaz

2017-11-24

There has been significant interest towards highly tunable resonators for on-demand frequency selection in modern communication systems. Here, we report highly tunable electrostatically actuated silicon-based nanomechanical resonators. In-plane doubly-clamped bridges, slightly curved as shallow arches due to residual stresses, are fabricated using standard electron beam lithography and surface nanomachining. The resonators are designed such that the effect of mid-plane stretching dominates the softening effect of the electrostatic force. This is achieved by controlling the gap-to-thickness ratio and by exploiting the initial curvature of the structure from fabrication. We demonstrate considerable increase in the resonance frequency of nanoresonators with the dc bias voltages up to 108% for 180 nm thick structures with a transduction gap of 1 $mu$m separating them from the driving/sensing electrodes. The experimental results are found in good agreement with those of a nonlinear analytical model based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. As a potential application, we demonstrate a tunable narrow band-pass filter using two electrically coupled nanomechanical arch resonators with varied dc bias voltages.

Highly Tunable Electrostatic Nanomechanical Resonators

KAUST Repository

Kazmi, Syed Naveed Riaz; Hajjaj, Amal Z.; Hafiz, Md Abdullah Al; Da Costa, Pedro M. F. J.; Younis, Mohammad I.

2017-01-01

There has been significant interest towards highly tunable resonators for on-demand frequency selection in modern communication systems. Here, we report highly tunable electrostatically actuated silicon-based nanomechanical resonators. In-plane doubly-clamped bridges, slightly curved as shallow arches due to residual stresses, are fabricated using standard electron beam lithography and surface nanomachining. The resonators are designed such that the effect of mid-plane stretching dominates the softening effect of the electrostatic force. This is achieved by controlling the gap-to-thickness ratio and by exploiting the initial curvature of the structure from fabrication. We demonstrate considerable increase in the resonance frequency of nanoresonators with the dc bias voltages up to 108% for 180 nm thick structures with a transduction gap of 1 $mu$m separating them from the driving/sensing electrodes. The experimental results are found in good agreement with those of a nonlinear analytical model based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. As a potential application, we demonstrate a tunable narrow band-pass filter using two electrically coupled nanomechanical arch resonators with varied dc bias voltages.

Realization of cantilever arrays for parallel proximity imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarov, Y; Ivanov, Tz; Frank, A; Zoellner, J-P; Nikolov, N; Rangelow, I W

2010-01-01

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterisation of self-actuating, and self-sensing cantilever arrays for large-scale parallel surface scanning. Each cantilever is integrated with a sharp silicon tip, a thermal-driven bimorph actuator, and a piezoresistive deflection sensor. Thus, the tip to the sample distance can be controlled individually for each cantilever. A radius of the tips below 10 nm is obtained, which enables nanometre in-plane surface imaging by Angstrom resolution in vertical direction. The fabricated cantilever probe arrays are also applicable for large-area manipulation, sub-10 nm metrology, bottom-up synthesis, high-speed gas analysis, for different bio-applications like recognition of DNA, RNA, or various biomarkers of a single disease, etc.

Lorentz force actuation of a heated atomic force microscope cantilever.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Byeonghee; Prater, Craig B; King, William P

2012-02-10

We report Lorentz force-induced actuation of a silicon microcantilever having an integrated resistive heater. Oscillating current through the cantilever interacts with the magnetic field around a NdFeB permanent magnet and induces a Lorentz force that deflects the cantilever. The same current induces cantilever heating. With AC currents as low as 0.2 mA, the cantilever can be oscillated as much as 80 nm at resonance with a DC temperature rise of less than 5 °C. By comparison, the AC temperature variation leads to a thermomechanical oscillation that is about 1000 times smaller than the Lorentz deflection at the cantilever resonance. The cantilever position in the nonuniform magnetic field affects the Lorentz force-induced deflection, with the magnetic field parallel to the cantilever having the largest effect on cantilever actuation. We demonstrate how the cantilever actuation can be used for imaging, and for measuring the local material softening temperature by sensing the contact resonance shift.

Fabrication Effects on Polysilicon-based Micro cantilever Piezo resistivity for Biological Sensing Application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nina Korlina Madzhi; Balkish Natra; Mastura Sidek; Khuan, L.Y.; Anuar Ahmad

2011-01-01

In principle, adsorption of biological molecules on a functionalized surface of a micro fabricated cantilever will cause a surface stress and consequently the cantilever bending. In this work, four different type of polysilicon-based piezo resistive micro cantilever sensors were designed to increase the sensitivity of the micro cantilevers sensor because the forces involved is very small. The design and optimization was performed by using finite element analysis to maximize the relative resistance changes of the piezo resistors as a function of the cantilever vertical displacements. The resistivity of the piezo resistivity micro cantilevers was analyzed before and after dicing process. The maximum resistance changes were systematically investigated by varying the piezo resistor length. The results show that although the thickness of piezo resistor was the same at 0.5 μm the resistance value was varied. (author)

Simultaneous differential spinning disk fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and nanomechanical mapping atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Adelaide; De Beule, Pieter A. A.; Martins, Marco

2015-01-01

Combined microscopy techniques offer the life science research community a powerful tool to investigate complex biological systems and their interactions. Here, we present a new combined microscopy platform based on fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy through aperture correlation microscopy with a Differential Spinning Disk (DSD) and nanomechanical mapping with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The illumination scheme of the DSD microscope unit, contrary to standard single or multi-point confocal microscopes, provides a time-independent illumination of the AFM cantilever. This enables a distortion-free simultaneous operation of fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and atomic force microscopy with standard probes. In this context, we discuss sample heating due to AFM cantilever illumination with fluorescence excitation light. Integration of a DSD fluorescence optical sectioning unit with an AFM platform requires mitigation of mechanical noise transfer of the spinning disk. We identify and present two solutions to almost annul this noise in the AFM measurement process. The new combined microscopy platform is applied to the characterization of a DOPC/DOPS (4:1) lipid structures labelled with a lipophilic cationic indocarbocyanine dye deposited on a mica substrate

Simultaneous differential spinning disk fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and nanomechanical mapping atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miranda, Adelaide; De Beule, Pieter A. A., E-mail: pieter.de-beule@inl.int [Applied Nano-Optics Laboratory, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre José Veiga, s/n, 4715-330 Braga (Portugal); Martins, Marco [Nano-ICs Group, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre José Veiga, s/n, 4715-330 Braga (Portugal)

2015-09-15

Combined microscopy techniques offer the life science research community a powerful tool to investigate complex biological systems and their interactions. Here, we present a new combined microscopy platform based on fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy through aperture correlation microscopy with a Differential Spinning Disk (DSD) and nanomechanical mapping with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The illumination scheme of the DSD microscope unit, contrary to standard single or multi-point confocal microscopes, provides a time-independent illumination of the AFM cantilever. This enables a distortion-free simultaneous operation of fluorescence optical sectioning microscopy and atomic force microscopy with standard probes. In this context, we discuss sample heating due to AFM cantilever illumination with fluorescence excitation light. Integration of a DSD fluorescence optical sectioning unit with an AFM platform requires mitigation of mechanical noise transfer of the spinning disk. We identify and present two solutions to almost annul this noise in the AFM measurement process. The new combined microscopy platform is applied to the characterization of a DOPC/DOPS (4:1) lipid structures labelled with a lipophilic cationic indocarbocyanine dye deposited on a mica substrate.

Detection of stiff nanoparticles within cellular structures by contact resonance atomic force microscopy subsurface nanomechanical imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Reggente, Melania; Passeri, Daniele; Angeloni, Livia; Scaramuzzo, Francesca Anna; Barteri, Mario; De Angelis, Francesca; Persiconi, Irene; De Stefano, Maria Egle; Rossi, Marco

2017-05-04

Detecting stiff nanoparticles buried in soft biological matrices by atomic force microscopy (AFM) based techniques represents a new frontier in the field of scanning probe microscopies, originally developed as surface characterization methods. Here we report the detection of stiff (magnetic) nanoparticles (NPs) internalized in cells by using contact resonance AFM (CR-AFM) employed as a potentially non-destructive subsurface characterization tool. Magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) NPs were internalized in microglial cells from cerebral cortices of mouse embryos of 18 days by phagocytosis. Nanomechanical imaging of cells was performed by detecting the contact resonance frequencies (CRFs) of an AFM cantilever held in contact with the sample. Agglomerates of NPs internalized in cells were visualized on the basis of the local increase in the contact stiffness with respect to the surrounding biological matrix. A second AFM-based technique for nanomechanical imaging, i.e., HarmoniX™, as well as magnetic force microscopy and light microscopy were used to confirm the CR-AFM results. Thus, CR-AFM was demonstrated as a promising technique for subsurface imaging of nanomaterials in biological samples.

Fiber-top cantilever: a new generation of micromachined sensors for multipurpose applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iannuzzi, D.; Deladi, S.; Schreuders, H.; Slaman, M.; Rector, J.H.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

2006-01-01

Fiber-top cantilevers are new monolithic devices obtained by carving a cantilever out of the edge of a single-mode optical fiber. Here we report evidences of their potential impact as sensing devices for multipurpose applications.

Receptor-mediated endocytosis generates nanomechanical force reflective of ligand identity and cellular property.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao; Ren, Juan; Wang, Jingren; Li, Shixie; Zou, Qingze; Gao, Nan

2018-08-01

Whether environmental (thermal, chemical, and nutrient) signals generate quantifiable, nanoscale, mechanophysical changes in the cellular plasma membrane has not been well elucidated. Assessment of such mechanophysical properties of plasma membrane may shed lights on fundamental cellular process. Atomic force microscopic (AFM) measurement of the mechanical properties of live cells was hampered by the difficulty in accounting for the effects of the cantilever motion and the associated hydrodynamic force on the mechanical measurement. These challenges have been addressed in our recently developed control-based AFM nanomechanical measurement protocol, which enables a fast, noninvasive, broadband measurement of the real-time changes in plasma membrane elasticity in live cells. Here we show using this newly developed AFM platform that the plasma membrane of live mammalian cells exhibits a constant and quantifiable nanomechanical property, the membrane elasticity. This mechanical property sensitively changes in response to environmental factors, such as the thermal, chemical, and growth factor stimuli. We demonstrate that different chemical inhibitors of endocytosis elicit distinct changes in plasma membrane elastic modulus reflecting their specific molecular actions on the lipid configuration or the endocytic machinery. Interestingly, two different growth factors, EGF and Wnt3a, elicited distinct elastic force profiles revealed by AFM at the plasma membrane during receptor-mediated endocytosis. By applying this platform to genetically modified cells, we uncovered a previously unknown contribution of Cdc42, a key component of the cellular trafficking network, to EGF-stimulated endocytosis at plasma membrane. Together, this nanomechanical AFM study establishes an important foundation that is expandable and adaptable for investigation of cellular membrane evolution in response to various key extracellular signals. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A point-wise fiber Bragg grating displacement sensing system and its application for active vibration suppression of a smart cantilever beam subjected to multiple impact loadings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chuang, Kuo-Chih; Ma, Chien-Ching; Liao, Heng-Tseng

2012-01-01

In this work, active vibration suppression of a smart cantilever beam subjected to disturbances from multiple impact loadings is investigated with a point-wise fiber Bragg grating (FBG) displacement sensing system. An FBG demodulator is employed in the proposed fiber sensing system to dynamically demodulate the responses obtained by the FBG displacement sensor with high sensitivity. To investigate the ability of the proposed FBG displacement sensor as a feedback sensor, velocity feedback control and delay control are employed to suppress the vibrations of the first three bending modes of the smart cantilever beam. To improve the control performance for the first bending mode when the cantilever beam is subjected to an impact loading, we improve the conventional velocity feedback controller by tuning the control gain online with the aid of information from a higher vibration mode. Finally, active control of vibrations induced by multiple impact loadings due to a plastic ball is performed with the improved velocity feedback control. The experimental results show that active vibration control of smart structures subjected to disturbances such as impact loadings can be achieved by employing the proposed FBG sensing system to feed back out-of-plane point-wise displacement responses with high sensitivity. (paper)

Electrostatically Tunable Nanomechanical Shallow Arches

KAUST Repository

Kazmi, Syed N. R.

2017-11-03

We report an analytical and experimental study on the tunability of in-plane doubly-clamped nanomechanical arches under varied DC bias conditions at room temperature. For this purpose, silicon based shallow arches are fabricated using standard e-beam lithography and surface nanomachining of a highly conductive device layer on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The experimental results show good agreement with the analytical results with a maximum tunability of 108.14% for 180 nm thick arch with a transduction gap of 1 μm between the beam and the driving/sensing electrodes. The high tunability of shallow arches paves the ways for highly tunable band pass filtering applications in high frequency range.

Application of a Cantilevered SWCNT with Mass at the Tip as a Nanomechanical Sensor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mehdipour, I.; Barari, Amin; Domairry, G.

2011-01-01

In this paper, the continuum mechanics method and a bending model is applied to obtain the resonant frequency of the fixed-free SWCNT where the mass is rigidly attached to the tip. This method used the Euler–Bernoulli theory with cantilevered boundary conditions where the effect of attached mass ...... of resonant frequency are decreased. The validity and the accuracy of these formulas are examined with other sensor equations in the literatures. The results indicate that the new sensor equations can be used for CNT like CNT-based biosensors with reasonable accuracy....

Spring constant measurement using a MEMS force and displacement sensor utilizing paralleled piezoresistive cantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Kohyama, Sumihiro; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Yoshida, Satoru; Onoe, Hiroaki; Hirayama-Shoji, Kayoko; Tsukagoshi, Takuya; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Shimoyama, Isao

2018-04-01

This paper reports on a method to measure a spring constant on site using a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) force and displacement sensor. The proposed sensor consists of a force-sensing cantilever and a displacement-sensing cantilever. Each cantilever is composed of two beams with a piezoresistor on the sidewall for measuring the in-plane lateral directional force and displacement. The force resolution and displacement resolution of the fabricated sensor were less than 0.8 µN and 0.1 µm, respectively. We measured the spring constants of two types of hydrogel microparticles to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed sensor, with values of approximately 4.3 N m-1 and 15.1 N m-1 obtained. The results indicated that the proposed sensor is effective for on-site spring constant measurement.

Electrothermal piezoresistive cantilever resonators for personal measurements of nanoparticles in workplace exposure

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Wu, Wenze; Uhde, Erik; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2015-05-01

Low-cost and low-power piezoresistive cantilever resonators with integrated electrothermal heaters are developed to support the sensing module enhancement of the second generation of handheld cantilever-based airborne nanoparticle (NP) detector (CANTOR-2). These sensors are used for direct-reading of exposure to carbon engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) at indoor workplaces. The cantilever structures having various shapes of free ends are created using silicon bulk micromachining technologies (i.e, rectangular, hammer-head, triangular, and U-shaped cantilevers). For a complete wearable CANTOR-2, all components of the proposed detector can be grouped into two main units depending on their packaging placements (i.e., the NP sampler head and the electronics mounted in a handy-format housing). In the NP sampler head, a miniaturized electrophoretic aerosol sampler and a resonant silicon cantilever mass sensor are employed to collect the ENPs from the air stream to the cantilever surfaces and measuring their mass concentration, respectively. After calibration, the detected ENP mass concentrations of CANTOR-2 show a standard deviation from fast mobility particle sizer (FMPS, TSI 3091) of 8-14%.

Measurement of Mechanical Properties of Cantilever Shaped Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Thundat

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Microcantilevers were first introduced as imaging probes in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM due to their extremely high sensitivity in measuring surface forces. The versatility of these probes, however, allows the sensing and measurement of a host of mechanical properties of various materials. Sensor parameters such as resonance frequency, quality factor, amplitude of vibration and bending due to a differential stress can all be simultaneously determined for a cantilever. When measuring the mechanical properties of materials, identifying and discerning the most influential parameters responsible for the observed changes in the cantilever response are important. We will, therefore, discuss the effects of various force fields such as those induced by mass loading, residual stress, internal friction of the material, and other changes in the mechanical properties of the microcantilevers. Methods to measure variations in temperature, pressure, or molecular adsorption of water molecules are also discussed. Often these effects occur simultaneously, increasing the number of parameters that need to be concurrently measured to ensure the reliability of the sensors. We therefore systematically investigate the geometric and environmental effects on cantilever measurements including the chemical nature of the underlying interactions. To address the geometric effects we have considered cantilevers with a rectangular or circular cross section. The chemical nature is addressed by using cantilevers fabricated with metals and/or dielectrics. Selective chemical etching, swelling or changes in Young’s modulus of the surface were investigated by means of polymeric and inorganic coatings. Finally to address the effect of the environment in which the cantilever operates, the Knudsen number was determined to characterize the molecule-cantilever collisions. Also bimaterial cantilevers with high thermal sensitivity were used to discern the effect of temperature

Indium phosphide-based monolithically integrated PIN waveguide photodiode readout for resonant cantilever sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siwak, N. P. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Laboratory for the Physical Sciences, 8050 Greenmead Drive, College Park, Maryland 20740 (United States); Fan, X. Z.; Ghodssi, R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Kanakaraju, S.; Richardson, C. J. K. [Laboratory for the Physical Sciences, 8050 Greenmead Drive, College Park, Maryland 20740 (United States)

2014-10-06

An integrated photodiode displacement readout scheme for a microelectromechanical cantilever waveguide resonator sensing platform is presented. III-V semiconductors are used to enable the monolithic integration of passive waveguides with active optical components. This work builds upon previously demonstrated results by measuring the displacement of cantilever waveguide resonators with on-chip waveguide PIN photodiodes. The on-chip integration of the readout provides an additional 70% improvement in mass sensitivity compared to off-chip photodetector designs due to measurement stability and minimized coupling loss. In addition to increased measurement stability, reduced packaging complexity is achieved due to the simplicity of the readout design. We have fabricated cantilever waveguides with integrated photodetectors and experimentally characterized these cantilever sensors with monolithically integrated PIN photodiodes.

A scanning probe microscope for magnetoresistive cantilevers utilizing a nested scanner design for large-area scans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Meier

2015-02-01

Full Text Available We describe an atomic force microscope (AFM for the characterization of self-sensing tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR cantilevers. Furthermore, we achieve a large scan-range with a nested scanner design of two independent piezo scanners: a small high resolution scanner with a scan range of 5 × 5 × 5 μm3 is mounted on a large-area scanner with a scan range of 800 × 800 × 35 μm3. In order to characterize TMR sensors on AFM cantilevers as deflection sensors, the AFM is equipped with a laser beam deflection setup to measure the deflection of the cantilevers independently. The instrument is based on a commercial AFM controller and capable to perform large-area scanning directly without stitching of images. Images obtained on different samples such as calibration standard, optical grating, EPROM chip, self-assembled monolayers and atomic step-edges of gold demonstrate the high stability of the nested scanner design and the performance of self-sensing TMR cantilevers.

A Quad-Cantilevered Plate micro-sensor for intracranial pressure measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalkov, Vasko; Qasaimeh, Mohammad A

2017-07-01

This paper proposes a new design for pressure-sensing micro-plate platform to bring higher sensitivity to a pressure sensor based on piezoresistive MEMS sensing mechanism. The proposed design is composed of a suspended plate having four stepped cantilever beams connected to its corners, and thus defined as Quad-Cantilevered Plate (QCP). Finite element analysis was performed to determine the optimal design for sensitivity and structural stability under a range of applied forces. Furthermore, a piezoresistive analysis was performed to calculate sensor sensitivity. Both the maximum stress and the change in resistance of the piezoresistor associated with the QCP were found to be higher compared to previously published designs, and linearly related to the applied pressure as desired. Therefore, the QCP demonstrates greater sensitivity, and could be potentially used as an efficient pressure sensor for intracranial pressure measurement.

A wall shear stress sensor using a pair of sidewall doped cantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Thanh-Vinh; Kazama, Ryohei; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Shimoyama, Isao

2017-07-01

In this paper, we report on a micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS)-based piezoresistive sensor for measuring shear stress induced by an airflow. The advantages of the proposed sensor include a simple sensing method and a high resonance frequency due to the small size of the sensing elements. Our sensor consists of a pair of 3 µm thick cantilevers with piezoresistors formed on the sidewall of their hinges to detect lateral deformation in the cantilevers induced by an airflow. Each cantilever has a 200 µm  ×  400 µm plate supported by two 150 µm long, 4 µm wide beams. The piezoresistors on the two cantilevers are designed to deform in opposite manners when a shear stress is applied and in the same manner when a pressure is applied. Therefore, the applied shear stress can be detected from the difference in the responses of the two cantilevers without becoming conflated with pressure. In this paper, the design, fabrication and evaluation of the proposed sensor are reported and compared to numerical simulation results. From the experimental results, the resolution of the sensor and its first resonance frequency are 1.3 Pa and 3.9 kHz, respectively. Moreover, we show that the effect of temperature on the readout of the sensor can be eliminated using a temperature-compensating piezoresistor fabricated on the same sensor chip. Finally, using the fabricated sensor, the measurement of the shear stress induced by an airflow with velocity between  -10 and 10 m s-1 is demonstrated.

A wall shear stress sensor using a pair of sidewall doped cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Thanh-Vinh; Shimoyama, Isao; Kazama, Ryohei; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi

2017-01-01

In this paper, we report on a micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS)-based piezoresistive sensor for measuring shear stress induced by an airflow. The advantages of the proposed sensor include a simple sensing method and a high resonance frequency due to the small size of the sensing elements. Our sensor consists of a pair of 3 µ m thick cantilevers with piezoresistors formed on the sidewall of their hinges to detect lateral deformation in the cantilevers induced by an airflow. Each cantilever has a 200 µ m  ×  400 µ m plate supported by two 150 µ m long, 4 µ m wide beams. The piezoresistors on the two cantilevers are designed to deform in opposite manners when a shear stress is applied and in the same manner when a pressure is applied. Therefore, the applied shear stress can be detected from the difference in the responses of the two cantilevers without becoming conflated with pressure. In this paper, the design, fabrication and evaluation of the proposed sensor are reported and compared to numerical simulation results. From the experimental results, the resolution of the sensor and its first resonance frequency are 1.3 Pa and 3.9 kHz, respectively. Moreover, we show that the effect of temperature on the readout of the sensor can be eliminated using a temperature-compensating piezoresistor fabricated on the same sensor chip. Finally, using the fabricated sensor, the measurement of the shear stress induced by an airflow with velocity between  −10 and 10 m s −1 is demonstrated. (paper)

Nanomechanical DNA origami 'single-molecule beacons' directly imaged by atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzuya, Akinori; Sakai, Yusuke; Yamazaki, Takahiro; Xu, Yan; Komiyama, Makoto

2011-01-01

DNA origami involves the folding of long single-stranded DNA into designed structures with the aid of short staple strands; such structures may enable the development of useful nanomechanical DNA devices. Here we develop versatile sensing systems for a variety of chemical and biological targets at molecular resolution. We have designed functional nanomechanical DNA origami devices that can be used as 'single-molecule beacons', and function as pinching devices. Using 'DNA origami pliers' and 'DNA origami forceps', which consist of two levers ~170 nm long connected at a fulcrum, various single-molecule inorganic and organic targets ranging from metal ions to proteins can be visually detected using atomic force microscopy by a shape transition of the origami devices. Any detection mechanism suitable for the target of interest, pinching, zipping or unzipping, can be chosen and used orthogonally with differently shaped origami devices in the same mixture using a single platform. PMID:21863016

Real-time viscosity and mass density sensors requiring microliter sample volume based on nanomechanical resonators.

Science.gov (United States)

Bircher, Benjamin A; Duempelmann, Luc; Renggli, Kasper; Lang, Hans Peter; Gerber, Christoph; Bruns, Nico; Braun, Thomas

2013-09-17

A microcantilever based method for fluid viscosity and mass density measurements with high temporal resolution and microliter sample consumption is presented. Nanomechanical cantilever vibration is driven by photothermal excitation and detected by an optical beam deflection system using two laser beams of different wavelengths. The theoretical framework relating cantilever response to the viscosity and mass density of the surrounding fluid was extended to consider higher flexural modes vibrating at high Reynolds numbers. The performance of the developed sensor and extended theory was validated over a viscosity range of 1-20 mPa·s and a corresponding mass density range of 998-1176 kg/m(3) using reference fluids. Separating sample plugs from the carrier fluid by a two-phase configuration in combination with a microfluidic flow cell, allowed samples of 5 μL to be sequentially measured under continuous flow, opening the method to fast and reliable screening applications. To demonstrate the study of dynamic processes, the viscosity and mass density changes occurring during the free radical polymerization of acrylamide were monitored and compared to published data. Shear-thinning was observed in the viscosity data at higher flexural modes, which vibrate at elevated frequencies. Rheokinetic models allowed the monomer-to-polymer conversion to be tracked in spite of the shear-thinning behavior, and could be applied to study the kinetics of unknown processes.

Readout of micromechanical cantilever sensor arrays by Fabry-Perot interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wehrmeister, Jana; Fuss, Achim; Saurenbach, Frank; Berger, Ruediger; Helm, Mark

2007-01-01

The increasing use of micromechanical cantilevers in sensing applications causes a need for reliable readout techniques of micromechanical cantilever sensor (MCS) bending. Current optical beam deflection techniques suffer from drawbacks such as artifacts due to changes in the refraction index upon exchange of media. Here, an adaptation of the Fabry-Perot interferometer is presented that allows simultaneous determination of MCS bending and changes in the refraction index of media. Calibration of the instrument with liquids of known refraction index provides an avenue to direct measurement of bending with nanometer precision. Versatile construction of flow cells in combination with alignment features for substrate chips allows simultaneous measurement of two MCS situated either on the same, or on two different support chips. The performance of the instrument is demonstrate in several sensing applications, including adsorption experiments of alkanethioles on MCS gold surfaces, and measurement of humidity changes in air

Design and Simulation of A Novel Piezoelectric AlN-Si Cantilever Gyroscope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Yang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A novel design of piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN-Si composite cantilever gyroscope is proposed in this paper. The cantilever is stimulated to oscillate in plane by two inverse voltages which are applied on the two paralleled drive electrodes, respectively. The whole working principles are deduced, which based on the piezoelectric equation and elastic vibration equation. In this work, a cantilever gyroscope has been simulated and optimized by COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2a. The drive mode frequency is 87.422 kHz, and the sense mode frequency is 87.414 kHz. The theoretical sensitivity of this gyroscope is 0.145 pm/◦/s. This gyroscope has a small size and simple structure. It will be a better choice for the consumer electronics.

Calibration of optical cantilever deflection readers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Zhiyu; Seeley, Tim; Kossek, Sebastian; Thundat, Thomas

2004-01-01

Because of its ultrahigh sensitivity, the optical lever detection method similar to that used in the atomic force microscope (AFM) has been widely employed as a standard technique for measuring microcantilever deflection. Along with the increasing interest in using the microcantilever as a sensing platform, there is also a requirement for a reliable calibration technique. Many researchers have used the concept of optical lever detection to construct microcantilever deflection readout instruments for chemical, physical, and biological detection. However, without an AFM piezo z scanner, it is very difficult to precisely calibrate these instruments. Here, we present a step-by-step method to conveniently calibrate an instrument using commercially available piezoresistive cantilevers. The experimental results closely match the theoretical calculation. Following this procedure, one can easily calibrate any optical cantilever deflection detection system with high reproducibility, precision, and reliability. A detailed discussion of the optical lever readout system design has been addressed in this article

A closed-loop system for frequency tracking of piezoresistive cantilever sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Zhang, Qing; Merzsch, Stephan; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2013-05-01

A closed loop circuit capable of tracking resonant frequencies for MEMS-based piezoresistive cantilever resonators is developed in this work. The proposed closed-loop system is mainly based on a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit. In order to lock onto the resonant frequency of the resonator, an actuation signal generated from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is locked to the phase of the input reference signal of the cantilever sensor. In addition to the PLL component, an instrumentation amplifier and an active low pass filter (LPF) are connected to the system for gaining the amplitude and reducing the noise of the cantilever output signals. The LPF can transform a rectangular signal into a sinusoidal signal with voltage amplitudes ranging from 5 to 10 V which are sufficient for a piezoactuator input (i.e., maintaining a large output signal of the cantilever sensor). To demonstrate the functionality of the system, a self-sensing silicon cantilever resonator with a built-in piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge is fabricated and integrated with the circuit. A piezoactuator is utilized for actuating the cantilever into resonance. Implementation of this closed loop system is used to track the resonant frequency of a silicon cantilever-based sensor resonating at 9.4 kHz under a cross-sensitivity test of ambient temperature. The changes of the resonant frequency are interpreted using a frequency counter connected to the system. From the experimental results, the temperature sensitivity and coefficient of the employed sensor are 0.3 Hz/°C and 32.8 ppm/°C, respectively. The frequency stability of the system can reach up to 0.08 Hz. The development of this system will enable real-time nanoparticle monitoring systems and provide a miniaturization of the instrumentation modules for cantilever-based nanoparticle detectors.

Nanomechanical properties of hafnium nitride coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yao; Laha, Tapas; Balani, Kantesh; Agarwal, Arvind

2008-01-01

Nanomechanical properties of plasma-sprayed HfN coating with and without hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment were evaluated using nanoindentation. For HIPed HfN coating, the elastic modulus (E) and yield strength increase whereas the hardness (H), H/E ratio and fraction of the elastic work decrease. HIPed HfN coating shows a larger pile-up around the indent as compared to as-sprayed HfN. HIPing causes densification and improvement in inter-splat bonding which subsequently lead to increase in nanomechanical properties

Force Measurement with a Piezoelectric Cantilever in a Scanning Force Microscope

OpenAIRE

Tansock, J.; Williams, C. C.

1992-01-01

Detection of surface forces between a tip and sample has been demonstrated with a piezoelectric cantilever in a scanning force microscope (SFM). The use of piezoelectric force sensing is particularly advantageous in semiconductor applications where stray light from conventional optical force-sensing methods can significantly modify the local carrier density. Additionally, the piezoelectric sensors are simple, provide good sensitivity to force, and can be batch fabricated. Our piezoelectric fo...

Development and characterization of electrochemical cantilever sensor for bio/chemical sensing applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quan, Xueling; Fischer, Lee MacKenzie; Boisen, Anja

2011-01-01

We report the improvements made to our previously developed electrochemical cantilever (EC) sensor, where nanoporous gold material is employed as working electrodes in microcantilever arrays, while combined counter-reference electrodes are integrated on the chip. For a surface stress change of 1m...

Nanomechanical resonators and their applications in biological/chemical detection: Nanomechanics principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, Kilho; Park, Harold S.; Yoon, Dae Sung; Kwon, Taeyun

2011-01-01

Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) such as nanomechanical resonators, which have recently received significant attention from the scientific community. This is not only due to their capability of label-free detection of bio/chemical molecules at single-molecule (or atomic) resolution for future applications such as the early diagnosis of diseases like cancer, but also due to their unprecedented ability to detect physical quantities such as molecular weight, elastic stiffness, surface stress, and surface elastic stiffness for adsorbed molecules on the surface. Most experimental works on resonator-based molecular detection have been based on the principle that molecular adsorption onto a resonator surface increases the effective mass, and consequently decreases the resonant frequencies of the nanomechanical resonator. However, this principle is insufficient to provide fundamental insights into resonator-based molecular detection at the nanoscale; this is due to recently proposed novel nanoscale detection principles including various effects such as surface effects, nonlinear oscillations, coupled resonance, and stiffness effects. Furthermore, these effects have only recently been incorporated into existing physical models for resonators, and therefore the universal physical principles governing nanoresonator-based detection have not been completely described. Therefore, our objective in this review is to overview the current attempts to understand the underlying mechanisms in nanoresonator-based detection using physical models coupled to computational simulations and/or experiments. Specifically, we will focus on issues of special relevance to the dynamic behavior of nanoresonators and their applications in biological/chemical detection: the resonance behavior of micro/nanoresonators; resonator-based chemical/biological detection; physical models of various nanoresonators such as nanowires, carbon

A Novel Approach to the Sensing of Liquid Density Using a Plastic Optical Fibre Cantilever Beam

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Atul; Kim, Youngjin; Kim, Taesung

2009-01-01

This article reports for the first time the use of a plastic optical fibre (POF) cantilever beam to measure the density of a liquid. The sensor is based on the Archimedes buoyancy principle. The sensor consists of a POF bonded on the surface of a metal beam in the form of a cantilever configuration, and at the free end of the beam a displacer is…

Nanomechanical properties of thick porous silicon layers grown on p- and p+-type bulk crystalline Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charitidis, C.A.; Skarmoutsou, A.; Nassiopoulou, A.G.; Dragoneas, A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The nanomechanical properties of bulk crystalline Si. → The nanomechanical properties of porous Si. → The elastic-plastic deformation of porous Si compared to bulk crystalline quantified by nanoindentation data analysis. - Abstract: The nanomechanical properties and the nanoscale deformation of thick porous Si (PSi) layers of two different morphologies, grown electrochemically on p-type and p+-type Si wafers were investigated by the depth-sensing nanoindentation technique over a small range of loads using a Berkovich indenter and were compared with those of bulk crystalline Si. The microstructure of the thick PSi layers was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. PSi layers on p+-type Si show an anisotropic mesoporous structure with straight vertical pores of diameter in the range of 30-50 nm, while those on p-type Si show a sponge like mesoporous structure. The effect of the microstructure on the mechanical properties of the layers is discussed. It is shown that the hardness and Young's modulus of the PSi layers exhibit a strong dependence on their microstructure. In particular, PSi layers with the anisotropic straight vertical pores show higher hardness and elastic modulus values than sponge-like layers. However, sponge-like PSi layers reveal less plastic deformation and higher wear resistance compared with layers with straight vertical pores.

Free-standing nanomechanical and nanophotonic structures in single-crystal diamond

Science.gov (United States)

Burek, Michael John

Realizing complex three-dimensional structures in a range of material systems is critical to a variety of emerging nanotechnologies. This is particularly true of nanomechanical and nanophotonic systems, both relying on free-standing small-scale components. In the case of nanomechanics, necessary mechanical degrees of freedom require physically isolated structures, such as suspended beams, cantilevers, and membranes. For nanophotonics, elements like waveguides and photonic crystal cavities rely on light confinement provided by total internal reflection or distributed Bragg reflection, both of which require refractive index contrast between the device and surrounding medium (often air). Such suspended nanostructures are typically fabricated in a heterolayer structure, comprising of device (top) and sacrificial (middle) layers supported by a substrate (bottom), using standard surface nanomachining techniques. A selective, isotropic etch is then used to remove the sacrificial layer, resulting in free-standing devices. While high-quality, crystalline, thin film heterolayer structures are readily available for silicon (as silicon-on-insulator (SOI)) or III-V semiconductors (i.e. GaAs/AlGaAs), there remains an extensive list of materials with attractive electro-optic, piezoelectric, quantum optical, and other properties for which high quality single-crystal thin film heterolayer structures are not available. These include complex metal oxides like lithium niobate (LiNbO3), silicon-based compounds such as silicon carbide (SiC), III-V nitrides including gallium nitride (GaN), and inert single-crystals such as diamond. Diamond is especially attractive for a variety of nanoscale technologies due to its exceptional physical and chemical properties, including high mechanical hardness, stiffness, and thermal conductivity. Optically, it is transparent over a wide wavelength range (from 220 nm to the far infrared), has a high refractive index (n ~ 2.4), and is host to a vast

Entangling a nanomechanical resonator and a superconducting microwave cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitali, D.; Tombesi, P.; Woolley, M. J.; Doherty, A. C.; Milburn, G. J.

2007-01-01

We propose a scheme able to entangle at the steady state a nanomechanical resonator with a microwave cavity mode of a driven superconducting coplanar waveguide. The nanomechanical resonator is capacitively coupled with the central conductor of the waveguide and stationary entanglement is achievable up to temperatures of tens of milliKelvin

Shielded piezoresistive cantilever probes for nanoscale topography and electrical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yongliang; Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong-Tao; Lai, Keji; Kundhikanjana, Worasom; Kelly, Michael; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Haemmerli, Alexandre; Harjee, Nahid; Pruitt, Beth L

2014-01-01

This paper presents the design and fabrication of piezoresistive cantilever probes for microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) to enable simultaneous topographic and electrical imaging. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited Si 3 N 4  cantilevers with a shielded center conductor line and nanoscale conductive tip apex are batch fabricated on silicon-on-insulator wafers. Doped silicon piezoresistors are integrated at the root of the cantilevers to sense their deformation. The piezoresistive sensitivity is 2 nm for a bandwidth of 10 kHz, enabling topographical imaging with reasonable speed. The aluminum center conductor has a low resistance (less than 5 Ω) and small capacitance (∼1.7 pF) to ground; these parameters are critical for high sensitivity MIM imaging. High quality piezoresistive topography and MIM images are simultaneously obtained with the fabricated probes at ambient and cryogenic temperatures. These new piezoresistive probes remarkably broaden the horizon of MIM for scientific applications by operating with an integrated feedback mechanism at low temperature and for photosensitive samples. (paper)

Investigation of cleaning and regeneration methods for reliable construction of DNA cantilever biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quan, Xueling; Yi, Sun; Heiskanen, Arto

to clean and regenerate the sensing surface of cantilever biosensors. Perchloric acid potential sweep, potassium hydroxide-hydrogen peroxide, and piranha cleaning are investigated here. Peak-current potential differences from cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy and fluorescence detection...

Polymeric Cantilever Arrays for Biosensing Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calleja, M.; Tamayo, J.; Johansson, Alicia

2003-01-01

We report the fabrication of arrays of polymeric cantilevers for biochemistry applications. The cantilevers are fabricated in the polymer SU-8. The use of a polymer as the component material for the cantilevers provides the sensors with very high sensitivity due to convenient mechanical material...... properties. The fabrication process is based on spin coating of the photosensitive polymer and near-ultraviolet exposure. The method allows obtaining well-controlled and uniform mechanical properties of the cantilevers. The elastic constant of the cantilevers was measured, and their dynamic response...

Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Jesse D; Sulchek, Todd A; Feigin, Stuart C

2013-04-30

A disclosed chemical detection system for detecting a target material, such as an explosive material, can include a cantilevered probe, a probe heater coupled to the cantilevered probe, and a piezoelectric element disposed on the cantilevered probe. The piezoelectric element can be configured as a detector and/or an actuator. Detection can include, for example, detecting a movement of the cantilevered probe or a property of the cantilevered probe. The movement or a change in the property of the cantilevered probe can occur, for example, by adsorption of the target material, desorption of the target material, reaction of the target material and/or phase change of the target material. Examples of detectable movements and properties include temperature shifts, impedance shifts, and resonant frequency shifts of the cantilevered probe. The overall chemical detection system can be incorporated, for example, into a handheld explosive material detection system.

Nonlinearity in nanomechanical cantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villanueva Torrijo, Luis Guillermo; Karabalin, R. B.; Matheny, M. H.

2013-01-01

Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is widely used to successfully predict the linear dynamics of micro-and nanocantilever beams. However, its capacity to characterize the nonlinear dynamics of these devices has not yet been rigorously assessed, despite its use in nanoelectromechanical systems developmen....... These findings underscore the delicate balance between inertial and geometric nonlinear effects in the fundamental mode, and strongly motivate further work to develop theories beyond the Euler-Bernoulli approximation. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.87.024304...

Self-excitation of single nanomechanical pillars

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyun S.; Qin, Hua; Blick, Robert H.

2010-03-01

Self-excitation is a mechanism that is ubiquitous for electromechanical power devices such as electrical generators. This is conventionally achieved by making use of the magnetic field component in electrical generators (Nedic and Lipo 2000 IEEE/IAS Conf. Records (Rome, Italy) vol 1 pp 51-6), a good and widely visible example of which is the wind turbine farm (Muljadi et al 2005 J. Sol. Energy Eng. 127 581-7). In other words, a static force, such as the wind acting on rotor blades, can generate a resonant excitation at a certain mechanical frequency. For nanomechanical systems (Craighead 2000 Science 290 1532-5 Roukes 2001 Phys. World 14 25-31 Cleland 2003 Foundations of Nanomechanics (Berlin: Springer); Ayari et al 2007 Nano Lett. 7 2252-7 Koenig et al 2008 Nat. Nanotechnol. 3 482-4) such a self-excitation (SE) mechanism is also highly desirable, because it can generate mechanical oscillations at radio frequencies by simply applying a dc bias voltage. This is of great importance for low-power signal communication devices and detectors, as well as for mechanical computing elements. For a particular nanomechanical system—the single electron shuttle—this effect was predicted some time ago by Gorelik et al (Phys. Rev. Lett. 80 4526-9). Here, we use a nanoelectromechanical single electron transistor (NEMSET) to demonstrate self-excitation for both the soft and hard regimes, respectively. The ability to use self-excitation in nanomechanical systems may enable the detection of quantum mechanical backaction effects (Naik et al 2006 Nature 443 193-6) in direct tunneling, macroscopic quantum tunneling (Savelev et al 2006 New J. Phys. 8 105-15) and rectification (Pistolesi and Fazio 2005 Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 036806-4). All these effects have so far been overshadowed by the large driving voltages that had to be applied.

Low-noise polymeric nanomechanical biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calleja, M.; Tamayo, J.; Nordström, Maria

2006-01-01

A sensor device based on a single polymer cantilever and optical readout has been developed for detection of molecular recognition reactions without the need of a reference cantilever for subtraction of unspecific signals. Microcantilevers have been fabricated in the photoresist SU-8 with one sur...

Nanomechanical molecular devices made of DNA origami.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzuya, Akinori; Ohya, Yuichi

2014-06-17

CONSPECTUS: Eight years have passed since the striking debut of the DNA origami technique ( Rothemund, P. W. K. Nature 2006 , 440 , 297 - 302 ), in which long single-stranded DNA is folded into a designed nanostructure, in either 2D or 3D, with the aid of many short staple strands. The number of proposals for new design principles for DNA origami structures seems to have already reached a peak. It is apparent that DNA origami study is now entering the second phase of creating practical applications. The development of functional nanomechanical molecular devices using the DNA origami technique is one such application attracting significant interest from researchers in the field. Nanomechanical DNA origami devices, which maintain the characteristics of DNA origami structures, have various advantages over conventional DNA nanomachines. Comparatively high assembly yield, relatively large size visible via atomic force microscopy (AFM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the capability to assemble multiple functional groups with precision using multiple staple strands are some of the advantages of the DNA origami technique for constructing sophisticated molecular devices. This Account describes the recent developments of such nanomechanical DNA origami devices and reviews the emerging target of DNA origami studies. First, simple "dynamic" DNA origami structures with transformation capability, such as DNA origami boxes and a DNA origami hatch with structure control, are briefly summarized. More elaborate nanomechanical DNA origami devices are then reviewed. The first example describes DNA origami pinching devices that can be used as "single-molecule" beacons to detect a variety of biorelated molecules, from metal ions at the size of a few tens of atomic mass number units to relatively gigantic proteins with a molecular mass greater than a hundred kilodaltons, all on a single platform. Clamshell-like DNA nanorobots equipped with logic gates can discriminate

Polymeric Flexible Immunosensor Based on Piezoresistive Micro-Cantilever with PEDOT/PSS Conductive Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Zhao

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a fully polymeric micro-cantilever with the surface passivation layer of parylene-C and the strain resistor of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/poly (styrene sulfonate (PEDOT/PSS was proposed and demonstrated for immunoassays. By optimizing the design and fabrication of the polymeric micro-cantilever, a square resistance of 220 Ω/□ for PEDOT/PSS conductive layer have been obtained. The experimental spring constant and the deflection sensitivity were measured to be 0.017 N/m and 8.59 × 10−7 nm−1, respectively. The biological sensing performances of polymeric micro-cantilever were investigated by the immunoassay for human immunoglobulin G (IgG. The immunosensor was experimentally demonstrated to have a linear behavior for the detection of IgG within the concentrations of 10~100 ng/mL with a limit of detection (LOD of 10 ng/mL. The experimental results indicate that the proposed polymeric flexible conductive layer-based sensors are capable of detecting trace biological substances.

Polymeric Flexible Immunosensor Based on Piezoresistive Micro-Cantilever with PEDOT/PSS Conductive Layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Rui; Sun, Ying

2018-02-03

In this paper, a fully polymeric micro-cantilever with the surface passivation layer of parylene-C and the strain resistor of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) was proposed and demonstrated for immunoassays. By optimizing the design and fabrication of the polymeric micro-cantilever, a square resistance of 220 Ω/□ for PEDOT/PSS conductive layer have been obtained. The experimental spring constant and the deflection sensitivity were measured to be 0.017 N/m and 8.59 × 10 -7 nm -1 , respectively. The biological sensing performances of polymeric micro-cantilever were investigated by the immunoassay for human immunoglobulin G (IgG). The immunosensor was experimentally demonstrated to have a linear behavior for the detection of IgG within the concentrations of 10~100 ng/mL with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 ng/mL. The experimental results indicate that the proposed polymeric flexible conductive layer-based sensors are capable of detecting trace biological substances.

Optimization of Q-factor of AFM cantilevers using genetic algorithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez-Cruz, Angel, E-mail: elapc27@gmail.com [Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico); Dominguez-Gonzalez, Aurelio [Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico); Stiharu, Ion [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal (Canada); Osornio-Rios, Roque A. [Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico)

2012-04-15

Micro cantilever beams have been intensively used in sensing applications including to scanning profiles and surfaces where there resolution and imaging speed are critical. Force resolution is related to the Q-factor. When the micro-cantilever operates in air with small separation gaps, the Q-factor is even more reduced due to the squeeze-film damping effect. Thus, the optimization of the configuration of an AFM micro-cantilever is presented in this work with the objective of improving its Q-factor. To accomplish this task, we propose the inclusion of holes as breathing chimneys in the initial design to reduce the squeeze-film damping effect. The evaluation of the Q-factor was carried out using finite element model, which is implemented to work together with the squeeze-film damping model. The methodology applied in the optimization process was genetic algorithms, which considers as constraints the maximum allowable stress, fundamental frequency and spring constant with respect to the initial design. The results show that the optimum design, which includes holes with an optimal location, increases the Q-factor almost five times compared to the initial design. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It was optimized the Q-factor of a cantilever, which operates near to the surface in air. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It was proposed the inclusion of holes as breathing chimneys in the cantilever's surface. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Genetic algorithms and finite element analysis were applied to find the optimum configuration for the Q-factor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optimum design keeps first frequency and the spring constant very close to the original and has a better force resolution. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Final design can be easily manufactured through a mask.

A novel approach to the sensing of liquid density using a plastic optical fibre cantilever beam

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Atul; Kim, Youngjin; Kim, Taesung

2009-01-01

This article reports for the first time the use of a plastic optical fibre (POF) cantilever beam to measure the density of a liquid. The sensor is based on the Archimedes buoyancy principle. The sensor consists of a POF bonded on the surface of a metal beam in the form of a cantilever configuration, and at the free end of the beam a displacer is attached. Due to the apparent loss of the true weight of the displacer there is a deflection in the cantilever beam, which causes macro bending in the POF. The loss of intensity due to macro bending of the POF is a measure of the density of the liquid under test. The variation of weight loss with the density of different liquids showed that the weight loss is proportional to density. This sensor is capable of detecting the weight loss with respect to their densities even for liquids having close values of density like distilled water, tap water, and milk of various brands. The resolution of the sensor is observed to be 1.1 mg cm-3.

Uncertainty quantification in nanomechanical measurements using the atomic force microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, Ryan; Raman, Arvind; Moon, Robert; Pratt, Jon; Shaw, Gordon

2011-01-01

Quantifying uncertainty in measured properties of nanomaterials is a prerequisite for the manufacture of reliable nanoengineered materials and products. Yet, rigorous uncertainty quantification (UQ) is rarely applied for material property measurements with the atomic force microscope (AFM), a widely used instrument that can measure properties at nanometer scale resolution of both inorganic and biological surfaces and nanomaterials. We present a framework to ascribe uncertainty to local nanomechanical properties of any nanoparticle or surface measured with the AFM by taking into account the main uncertainty sources inherent in such measurements. We demonstrate the framework by quantifying uncertainty in AFM-based measurements of the transverse elastic modulus of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), an abundant, plant-derived nanomaterial whose mechanical properties are comparable to Kevlar fibers. For a single, isolated CNC the transverse elastic modulus was found to have a mean of 8.1 GPa and a 95% confidence interval of 2.7–20 GPa. A key result is that multiple replicates of force–distance curves do not sample the important sources of uncertainty, which are systematic in nature. The dominant source of uncertainty is the nondimensional photodiode sensitivity calibration rather than the cantilever stiffness or Z-piezo calibrations. The results underscore the great need for, and open a path towards, quantifying and minimizing uncertainty in AFM-based material property measurements of nanoparticles, nanostructured surfaces, thin films, polymers and biomaterials.

Quantum Nanomechanics: State Engineering and Measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woolley, M. J.; Milburn, G. J.; Doherty, A. C.

2011-01-01

There has recently been a surge of interest in the study of mechanical systems near the quantum limit. Such experiments are motivated by both fundamental interest in studying quantum mechanics with macroscopic engineered systems and potential applications as ultra-sensitive transducers, or even in quantum information processing. A particularly promising system is a microwave cavity optomechanical system, in which a nanomechanical resonator is embedded within (and capacitively coupled to) a superconducting microwave cavity. Here we discuss two schemes for the generation and measurement of quantum states of the nanomechanical resonator. A quantum squeezed state may be generated via mechanical parametric amplification, while a number state may be conditionally generated via continuous measurement and feedback control mediated by a superconducting qubit.

Nonlinear Dynamics of Nanomechanical Resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Ramakrishnan, Subramanian; Gulak, Yuiry; Sundaram, Bala; Benaroya, Haym

2007-03-01

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) offer great promise for many applications including motion and mass sensing. Recent experimental results suggest the importance of nonlinear effects in NEMS, an issue which has not been addressed fully in theory. We report on a nonlinear extension of a recent analytical model by Armour et al [1] for the dynamics of a single-electron transistor (SET) coupled to a nanomechanical resonator. We consider the nonlinear resonator motion in both (a) the Duffing and (b) nonlinear pendulum regimes. The corresponding master equations are derived and solved numerically and we consider moment approximations as well. In the Duffing case with hardening stiffness, we observe that the resonator is damped by the SET at a significantly higher rate. In the cases of softening stiffness and the pendulum, there exist regimes where the SET adds energy to the resonator. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of a single model displaying both negative and positive resonator damping in different dynamical regimes. The implications of the results for SET sensitivity as well as for, as yet unexplained, experimental results will be discussed. 1. Armour et al. Phys.Rev.B (69) 125313 (2004).

Graphene cantilever under Casimir force

Science.gov (United States)

Derras-Chouk, Amel; Chudnovsky, Eugene M.; Garanin, Dmitry A.; Jaafar, Reem

2018-05-01

The stability of graphene cantilever under Casimir attraction to an underlying conductor is investigated. The dependence of the instability threshold on temperature and flexural rigidity is obtained. Analytical work is supplemented by numerical computation of the critical temperature above which the graphene cantilever irreversibly bends down and attaches to the conductor. The geometry of the attachment and exfoliation of the graphene sheet is discussed. It is argued that graphene cantilever can be an excellent tool for precision measurements of the Casimir force.

Higher Order Modes Excitation of Micro Cantilever Beams

KAUST Repository

Jaber, Nizar

2014-05-01

In this study, we present analytical and experimental investigation of electrically actuated micro cantilever based resonators. These devices are fabricated using polyimide and coated with chrome and gold layers from both sides. The cantilevers are highly curled up due to stress gradient, which is a common imperfection in surface micro machining. Using a laser Doppler vibrometer, we applied a noise signal to experimentally find the first four resonance frequencies. Then, using a data acquisition card, we swept the excitation frequency around the first four natural modes of vibrations. Theoretically, we derived a reduced order model using the Galerkin method to simulate the dynamics of the system. Extensive numerical analysis and computations were performed. The numerical analysis was able to provide good matching with experimental values of the resonance frequencies. Also, we proved the ability to excite higher order modes using partial electrodes with shapes that resemble the shape of the mode of interest. Such micro-resonators are shown to be promising for applications in mass and gas sensing.

Three-way flexible cantilever probes for static contact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Fei; Petersen, Dirch Hjorth; Jensen, Helle Vendelbo

2011-01-01

In micro four-point probe measurements, three-way flexible L-shaped cantilever probes show significant advantages over conventional straight cantilever probes. The L-shaped cantilever allows static contact to the sample surface which reduces the frictional wear of the cantilever tips. We analyze...

Oscillations of end loaded cantilever beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macho-Stadler, E; Elejalde-García, M J; Llanos-Vázquez, R

2015-01-01

This article presents several simple experiments based on changing transverse vibration frequencies in a cantilever beam, when acted on by an external attached mass load at the free end. By using a mechanical wave driver, available in introductory undergraduate laboratories, we provide various experimental results for end loaded cantilever beams that fit reasonably well into a linear equation. The behaviour of the cantilever beam’s weak-damping resonance response is studied for the case of metal resonance strips. As the mass load increases, a more pronounced decrease occurs in the fundamental frequency of beam vibration. It is important to note that cantilever construction is often used in architectural design and engineering construction projects but current analysis also predicts the influence of mass load on the sound generated by musical free reeds with boundary conditions similar to a cantilever beam. (paper)

Oscillations of end loaded cantilever beams

Science.gov (United States)

Macho-Stadler, E.; Elejalde-García, M. J.; Llanos-Vázquez, R.

2015-09-01

This article presents several simple experiments based on changing transverse vibration frequencies in a cantilever beam, when acted on by an external attached mass load at the free end. By using a mechanical wave driver, available in introductory undergraduate laboratories, we provide various experimental results for end loaded cantilever beams that fit reasonably well into a linear equation. The behaviour of the cantilever beam’s weak-damping resonance response is studied for the case of metal resonance strips. As the mass load increases, a more pronounced decrease occurs in the fundamental frequency of beam vibration. It is important to note that cantilever construction is often used in architectural design and engineering construction projects but current analysis also predicts the influence of mass load on the sound generated by musical free reeds with boundary conditions similar to a cantilever beam.

Towards airborne nanoparticle mass spectrometry with nanomechanical string resonators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmid, Silvan; Kurek, Maksymilian; Boisen, Anja

2013-01-01

airborne nanoparticle sensors. Recently, nanomechanical mass spectrometry was established. One of the biggest challenges of nanomechanical sensors is the low efficiency of diffusion-based sampling. We developed an inertial-based sampling method that enables the efficient sampling of airborne nanoparticles...... mode. Mass spectrometry of airborne nanoparticles requires the simultaneous operation in the first and second mode, which can be implemented in the transduction scheme of the resonator. The presented results lay the cornerstone for the realization of a portable airborne nanoparticle mass spectrometer....

Understanding interferometry for micro-cantilever displacement detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander von Schmidsfeld

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Interferometric displacement detection in a cantilever-based non-contact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM operated in ultra-high vacuum is demonstrated for the Michelson and Fabry–Pérot modes of operation. Each mode is addressed by appropriately adjusting the distance between the fiber end delivering and collecting light and a highly reflective micro-cantilever, both together forming the interferometric cavity. For a precise measurement of the cantilever displacement, the relative positioning of fiber and cantilever is of critical importance. We describe a systematic approach for accurate alignment as well as the implications of deficient fiber–cantilever configurations. In the Fabry–Pérot regime, the displacement noise spectral density strongly decreases with decreasing distance between the fiber-end and the cantilever, yielding a noise floor of 24 fm/Hz0.5 under optimum conditions.

Three-way flexible cantilever probes for static contact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fei; Petersen, Dirch H; Hansen, Christian; Mortensen, Dennis; Friis, Lars; Hansen, Ole; Jensen, Helle V

2011-01-01

In micro four-point probe measurements, three-way flexible L-shaped cantilever probes show significant advantages over conventional straight cantilever probes. The L-shaped cantilever allows static contact to the sample surface which reduces the frictional wear of the cantilever tips. We analyze the geometrical design space that must be fulfilled for the cantilevers to obtain static contact with the test sample. The design space relates the spring constant tensor of the cantilevers to the minimal value of the static tip-to-sample friction coefficient. Using an approximate model, we provide the analytical calculation of the compliance matrix of the L-shaped cantilever. Compared to results derived from finite element model simulations, the theoretical model provides a good qualitative analysis while deviations for the absolute values are seen. From a statistical analysis, the deviation is small for cantilevers with low effective spring constants, while the deviation is significant for large spring constants where the quasi one-dimensional approximation is no longer valid

Heat pumping in nanomechanical systems

OpenAIRE

Chamon, Claudio; Mucciolo, Eduardo R.; Arrachea, Liliana; Capaz, Rodrigo B.

2010-01-01

We propose using a phonon pumping mechanism to transfer heat from a cold to a hot body using a propagating modulation of the medium connecting the two bodies. This phonon pump can cool nanomechanical systems without the need for active feedback. We compute the lowest temperature that this refrigerator can achieve.

Development of a microfabricated electrochemical-cantilever hybrid platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Lee MacKenzie; Pedersen, Christoffer; Elkjær, Karl

2011-01-01

The design and fabrication of a combined electrochemical-cantilever microfluidic system is described. A chip integrating cantilevers with electrodes into a microchannel is presented with the accompanying polymer flow cell. Issues such as electrical and fluid connections are addressed......, electromechanical behavior in ionic solution is investigated, and two uses of the system are demonstrated. First, all cantilevers are functionalized with cysteine, to facilitate detection of Cu2+ ions, then one cantilever is electrochemically cleaned in situ to generate a reference cantilever for differential...

Polymeric cantilever-based biosensors with integrated readout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Alicia; Blagoi, Gabriela; Boisen, Anja

2006-01-01

The authors present an SU-8 cantilever chip with integrated piezoresistors for detection of surface stress changes due to adsorption of biomolecules on the cantilever surface. Mercaptohexanol is used as a model biomolecule to study molecular interactions with Au-coated SU-8 cantilevers and surfac...

Nanomechanical characterization of multilayered thin film structures for digital micromirror devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Guohua; Bhushan, Bharat; Joshua Jacobs, S.

2004-01-01

The digital micromirror device (DMD), used for digital projection displays, comprises a surface-micromachined array of up to 2.07 million aluminum micromirrors (14 μm square and 15 μm pitch), which switch forward and backward thousands of times per second using electrostatic attraction. The nanomechanical properties of the thin-film structures used are important to the performance of the DMD. In this paper, the nanomechanical characterization of the single and multilayered thin film structures, which are of interest in DMDs, is carried out. The hardness, Young's modulus and scratch resistance of TiN/Si, SiO 2 /Si, Al alloy/Si, TiN/Al alloy/Si and SiO 2 /TiN/Al alloy/Si thin-film structures were measured using nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques, respectively. The residual (internal) stresses developed during the thin film growth were estimated by measuring the radius of curvature of the sample before and after deposition. To better understand the nanomechanical properties of these thin film materials, the surface and interface analysis of the samples were conducted using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nanomechanical properties of these materials are analyzed and the impact of these properties on micromirror performance is discussed

High-speed broadband nanomechanical property quantification and imaging of life science materials using atomic force microscope

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Juan

Nanoscale morphological characterization and mechanical properties quantification of soft and biological materials play an important role in areas ranging from nano-composite material synthesis and characterization, cellular mechanics to drug design. Frontier studies in these areas demand the coordination between nanoscale morphological evolution and mechanical behavior variations through simultaneous measurement of these two aspects of properties. Atomic force microscope (AFM) is very promising in achieving such simultaneous measurements at high-speed and broadband owing to its unique capability in applying force stimuli and then, measuring the response at specific locations in a physiologically friendly environment with pico-newton force and nanometer spatial resolution. Challenges, however, arise as current AFM systems are unable to account for the complex and coupled dynamics of the measurement system and probe-sample interaction during high-speed imaging and broadband measurements. In this dissertation, the creation of a set of dynamics and control tools to probe-based high-speed imaging and rapid broadband nanomechanical spectroscopy of soft and biological materials are presented. Firstly, advanced control-based approaches are presented to improve the imaging performance of AFM imaging both in air and in liquid. An adaptive contact mode (ACM) imaging scheme is proposed to replace the traditional contact mode (CM) imaging by addressing the major concerns in both the speed and the force exerted to the sample. In this work, the image distortion caused by the topography tracking error is accounted for in the topography quantification and the quantified sample topography is utilized in a gradient-based optimization method to adjust the cantilever deflection set-point for each scanline closely around the minimal level needed for maintaining a stable probe-sample contact, and a data-driven iterative feedforward control that utilizes a prediction of the next

Real-time single airborne nanoparticle detection with nanomechanical resonant filter-fiber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmid, Silvan; Kurek, Maksymilian; Adolphsen, Jens Q

2013-01-01

Nanomechanical resonators have an unprecedented mass sensitivity sufficient to detect single molecules, viruses or nanoparticles. The challenge with nanomechanical mass sensors is the direction of nano-sized samples onto the resonator. In this work we present an efficient inertial sampling...... study of single filter-fiber behavior. We present the direct measurement of diffusive nanoparticle collection on a single filter-fiber qualitatively confirming Langmuir's model from 1942....

Microstructuring of piezoresistive cantilevers for gas detection and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarov, Y.; Sarova, V.; Bitterlich, Ch.; Richter, O.; Guliyev, E.; Zoellner, J.-P.; Rangelow, I. W.; Andok, R.; Bencurova, A.

2011-01-01

In this work we report on a design and fabrication of cantilevers for gas detection and analysis. The cantilevers have expanded area of interaction with the gas, while the signal transduction is realized by an integrated piezoresistive deflection sensor, placed at the narrowed cantilever base with highest stress along the cantilever. Moreover, the cantilevers have integrated bimorph micro-actuator detection in a static and dynamic mode. The cantilevers are feasible as pressure, temperature and flow sensors and under chemical functionalization - for gas recognition, tracing and composition analysis. (authors)

Nanomechanical analysis of high performance materials

CERN Document Server

2014-01-01

This book is intended for researchers who are interested in investigating the nanomechanical properties of materials using advanced instrumentation techniques. The chapters of the book are written in an easy-to-follow format, just like solved examples. The book comprehensively covers a broad range of materials such as polymers, ceramics, hybrids, biomaterials, metal oxides, nanoparticles, minerals, carbon nanotubes and welded joints. Each chapter describes the application of techniques on the selected material and also mentions the methodology adopted for the extraction of information from the raw data. This is a unique book in which both equipment manufacturers and equipment users have contributed chapters. Novices will learn the techniques directly from the inventors and senior researchers will gain in-depth information on the new technologies that are suitable for advanced analysis. On the one hand, fundamental concepts that are needed to understand the nanomechanical behavior of materials is included in t...

Heat pumping in nanomechanical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chamon, Claudio; Mucciolo, Eduardo R; Arrachea, Liliana; Capaz, Rodrigo B

2011-04-01

We propose using a phonon pumping mechanism to transfer heat from a cold to a hot body using a propagating modulation of the medium connecting the two bodies. This phonon pump can cool nanomechanical systems without the need for active feedback. We compute the lowest temperature that this refrigerator can achieve. © 2011 American Physical Society

The structural relaxation effect on the nanomechanical properties of a Ti-based bulk metallic glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Yongjiang; Zhou, Binjun; Chiu, YuLung; Fan, Hongbo; Wang, Dongjun; Sun, Jianfei; Shen, Jun

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The effect of structural relaxation on the nano-mechanical behaviors of BMGs is studied. • The indent load at first pop-in event, the hardness and Young’s modulus are enhanced after annealing. • The differences in nanomechanical properties can be attributed to their different atomic structure. - Abstract: Indentation experiments were performed on the as-cast and the annealed Ti-based bulk metallic glass samples to investigate the effect of structural relaxation on the nanomechanical behaviors of the material. The onset of pop-in event, Young’s modulus, and hardness were found to be sensitive to the structural relaxation of the testing material. The difference in nanomechanical properties between the as-cast and annealed BMG samples is interpreted in terms of free volume theory

The structural relaxation effect on the nanomechanical properties of a Ti-based bulk metallic glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Yongjiang, E-mail: yjhuang@hit.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding Production Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Key Laboratory of Micro-Systems and Micro-Structures Manufacturing, Harbin Institute of Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001 (China); Zhou, Binjun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Chiu, YuLung, E-mail: y.chiu@bham.ac.uk [School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Fan, Hongbo [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Dongjun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Key Laboratory of Micro-Systems and Micro-Structures Manufacturing, Harbin Institute of Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001 (China); Sun, Jianfei; Shen, Jun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2014-09-01

Highlights: • The effect of structural relaxation on the nano-mechanical behaviors of BMGs is studied. • The indent load at first pop-in event, the hardness and Young’s modulus are enhanced after annealing. • The differences in nanomechanical properties can be attributed to their different atomic structure. - Abstract: Indentation experiments were performed on the as-cast and the annealed Ti-based bulk metallic glass samples to investigate the effect of structural relaxation on the nanomechanical behaviors of the material. The onset of pop-in event, Young’s modulus, and hardness were found to be sensitive to the structural relaxation of the testing material. The difference in nanomechanical properties between the as-cast and annealed BMG samples is interpreted in terms of free volume theory.

DNA origami-based shape IDs for single-molecule nanomechanical genotyping

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Honglu; Chao, Jie; Pan, Dun; Liu, Huajie; Qiang, Yu; Liu, Ke; Cui, Chengjun; Chen, Jianhua; Huang, Qing; Hu, Jun; Wang, Lianhui; Huang, Wei; Shi, Yongyong; Fan, Chunhai

2017-04-01

Variations on DNA sequences profoundly affect how we develop diseases and respond to pathogens and drugs. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a nanomechanical imaging approach for genetic analysis with nanometre resolution. However, unlike fluorescence imaging that has wavelength-specific fluorophores, the lack of shape-specific labels largely hampers widespread applications of AFM imaging. Here we report the development of a set of differentially shaped, highly hybridizable self-assembled DNA origami nanostructures serving as shape IDs for magnified nanomechanical imaging of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Using these origami shape IDs, we directly genotype single molecules of human genomic DNA with an ultrahigh resolution of ~10 nm and the multiplexing ability. Further, we determine three types of disease-associated, long-range haplotypes in samples from the Han Chinese population. Single-molecule analysis allows robust haplotyping even for samples with low labelling efficiency. We expect this generic shape ID-based nanomechanical approach to hold great potential in genetic analysis at the single-molecule level.

Atomic probe Wigner tomography of a nanomechanical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Swati; Meystre, Pierre

2010-01-01

We propose a scheme to measure the quantum state of a nanomechanical oscillator cooled near its ground state of vibrational motion. This is an extension of the nonlinear atomic homodyning technique scheme first developed to measure the intracavity field in a micromaser. It involves the use of a detector atom that is simultaneously coupled to the resonator via a magnetic interaction and to (classical) optical fields via a Raman transition. We show that the probability for the atom to be found in the ground state is a direct measure of the Wigner characteristic function of the nanomechanical oscillator. We also investigate the back-action effect of this destructive measurement on the state of the resonator.

Nanomechanical DNA origami pH sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzuya, Akinori; Watanabe, Ryosuke; Yamanaka, Yusei; Tamaki, Takuya; Kaino, Masafumi; Ohya, Yuichi

2014-10-16

Single-molecule pH sensors have been developed by utilizing molecular imaging of pH-responsive shape transition of nanomechanical DNA origami devices with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Short DNA fragments that can form i-motifs were introduced to nanomechanical DNA origami devices with pliers-like shape (DNA Origami Pliers), which consist of two levers of 170-nm long and 20-nm wide connected at a Holliday-junction fulcrum. DNA Origami Pliers can be observed as in three distinct forms; cross, antiparallel and parallel forms, and cross form is the dominant species when no additional interaction is introduced to DNA Origami Pliers. Introduction of nine pairs of 12-mer sequence (5'-AACCCCAACCCC-3'), which dimerize into i-motif quadruplexes upon protonation of cytosine, drives transition of DNA Origami Pliers from open cross form into closed parallel form under acidic conditions. Such pH-dependent transition was clearly imaged on mica in molecular resolution by AFM, showing potential application of the system to single-molecular pH sensors.

Nanomechanical IR spectroscopy for fast analysis of liquid-dispersed engineered nanomaterials

OpenAIRE

Andersen, Alina Joukainen; Yamada, Shoko; Ek, Pramod Kumar; Andresen, Thomas Lars; Boisen, Anja; Schmid, Silvan

2016-01-01

The proliferated use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), e.g. in nanomedicine, calls for novel techniques allowing for fast and sensitive analysis of minute samples. Here we present nanomechanical IR spectroscopy (NAM-IR) for chemical analysis of picograms of ENMs. ENMs are nebulized directly from dispersion and efficiently collected on nanomechanical string resonators through a non-diffusion limited sampling method. Even very small amounts of sample can convert absorbed IR light into a measu...

Development of a surface plasmon resonance and nanomechanical biosensing hybrid platform for multiparametric reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Mar; Fariña, David; Escuela, Alfonso M; Sendra, Jose Ramón; Lechuga, Laura M

2013-01-01

We have developed a hybrid platform that combines two well-known biosensing technologies based on quite different transducer principles: surface plasmon resonance and nanomechanical sensing. The new system allows the simultaneous and real-time detection of two independent parameters, refractive index change (Δn), and surface stress change (Δσ) when a biomolecular interaction takes place. Both parameters have a direct relation with the mass coverage of the sensor surface. The core of the platform is a common fluid cell, where the solution arrives to both sensor areas at the same time and under the same conditions (temperature, velocity, diffusion, etc.).The main objective of this integration is to achieve a better understanding of the physical behaviour of the transducers during sensing, increasing the information obtained in real time in one single experiment. The potential of the hybrid platform is demonstrated by the detection of DNA hybridization.

Label-free glucose detection using cantilever sensor technology based on gravimetric detection principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Shuchen; Hsieh, Shu-Ling; Hsieh, Chiung-Wen; Lin, Po-Chiao; Wu, Chun-Hsin

2013-01-01

Efficient maintenance of glucose homeostasis is a major challenge in diabetes therapy, where accurate and reliable glucose level detection is required. Though several methods are currently used, these suffer from impaired response and often unpredictable drift, making them unsuitable for long-term therapeutic practice. In this study, we demonstrate a method that uses a functionalized atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever as the sensor for reliable glucose detection with sufficient sensitivity and selectivity for clinical use. We first modified the AFM tip with aminopropylsilatrane (APS) and then adsorbed glucose-specific lectin concanavalin A (Con A) onto the surface. The Con A/APS-modified probes were then used to detect glucose by monitoring shifts in the cantilever resonance frequency. To confirm the molecule-specific interaction, AFM topographical images were acquired of identically treated silicon substrates which indicated a specific attachment for glucose-Con A and not for galactose-Con A. These results demonstrate that by monitoring the frequency shift of the AFM cantilever, this sensing system can detect the interaction between Con A and glucose, one of the biomolecule recognition processes, and may assist in the detection and mass quantification of glucose for clinical applications with very high sensitivity.

Self-sensing cantilevers with integrated conductive coaxial tips for high-resolution electrical scanning probe metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haemmerli, Alexandre J.; Pruitt, Beth L.; Harjee, Nahid; Koenig, Markus; Garcia, Andrei G. F.; Goldhaber-Gordon, David

2015-01-01

The lateral resolution of many electrical scanning probe techniques is limited by the spatial extent of the electrostatic potential profiles produced by their probes. Conventional unshielded conductive atomic force microscopy probes produce broad potential profiles. Shielded probes could offer higher resolution and easier data interpretation in the study of nanostructures. Electrical scanning probe techniques require a method of locating structures of interest, often by mapping surface topography. As the samples studied with these techniques are often photosensitive, the typical laser measurement of cantilever deflection can excite the sample, causing undesirable changes electrical properties. In this work, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of probes that integrate coaxial tips for spatially sharp potential profiles with piezoresistors for self-contained, electrical displacement sensing. With the apex 100 nm above the sample surface, the electrostatic potential profile produced by our coaxial tips is more than 2 times narrower than that of unshielded tips with no long tails. In a scan bandwidth of 1 Hz–10 kHz, our probes have a displacement resolution of 2.9 Å at 293 K and 79 Å at 2 K, where the low-temperature performance is limited by amplifier noise. We show scanning gate microscopy images of a quantum point contact obtained with our probes, highlighting the improvement to lateral resolution resulting from the coaxial tip

An experimentally validated bimorph cantilever model for piezoelectric energy harvesting from base excitations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erturk, A; Inman, D J

2009-01-01

Piezoelectric transduction has received great attention for vibration-to-electric energy conversion over the last five years. A typical piezoelectric energy harvester is a unimorph or a bimorph cantilever located on a vibrating host structure, to generate electrical energy from base excitations. Several authors have investigated modeling of cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvesters under base excitation. The existing mathematical modeling approaches range from elementary single-degree-of-freedom models to approximate distributed parameter solutions in the sense of Rayleigh–Ritz discretization as well as analytical solution attempts with certain simplifications. Recently, the authors have presented the closed-form analytical solution for a unimorph cantilever under base excitation based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam assumptions. In this paper, the analytical solution is applied to bimorph cantilever configurations with series and parallel connections of piezoceramic layers. The base excitation is assumed to be translation in the transverse direction with a superimposed small rotation. The closed-form steady state response expressions are obtained for harmonic excitations at arbitrary frequencies, which are then reduced to simple but accurate single-mode expressions for modal excitations. The electromechanical frequency response functions (FRFs) that relate the voltage output and vibration response to translational and rotational base accelerations are identified from the multi-mode and single-mode solutions. Experimental validation of the single-mode coupled voltage output and vibration response expressions is presented for a bimorph cantilever with a tip mass. It is observed that the closed-form single-mode FRFs obtained from the analytical solution can successfully predict the coupled system dynamics for a wide range of electrical load resistance. The performance of the bimorph device is analyzed extensively for the short circuit and open circuit resonance

Nanotribology and nanomechanics an introduction

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

This textbook and comprehensive reference source and serves as a timely, practical introduction to the principles of nanotribology and nanomechanics. This 4th edition has been completely revised and updated, concentrating on the key measurement techniques, their applications, and theoretical modeling of interfaces. It provides condensed knowledge of the field from the mechanics and materials science perspectives to graduate students, research workers, and practicing engineers.

Cantilever arrays with self-aligned nanotips of uniform height

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koelmans, W W; Peters, T; Berenschot, E; De Boer, M J; Siekman, M H; Abelmann, L

2012-01-01

Cantilever arrays are employed to increase the throughput of imaging and manipulation at the nanoscale. We present a fabrication process to construct cantilever arrays with nanotips that show a uniform tip–sample distance. Such uniformity is crucial, because in many applications the cantilevers do not feature individual tip–sample spacing control. Uniform cantilever arrays lead to very similar tip–sample interaction within an array, enable non-contact modes for arrays and give better control over the load force in contact modes. The developed process flow uses a single mask to define both tips and cantilevers. An additional mask is required for the back side etch. The tips are self-aligned in the convex corner at the free end of each cantilever. Although we use standard optical contact lithography, we show that the convex corner can be sharpened to a nanometre scale radius by an isotropic underetch step. The process is robust and wafer-scale. The resonance frequencies of the cantilevers within an array are shown to be highly uniform with a relative standard error of 0.26% or lower. The tip–sample distance within an array of up to ten cantilevers is measured to have a standard error around 10 nm. An imaging demonstration using the AFM shows that all cantilevers in the array have a sharp tip with a radius below 10 nm. The process flow for the cantilever arrays finds application in probe-based nanolithography, probe-based data storage, nanomanufacturing and parallel scanning probe microscopy. (paper)

Calibration of higher eigenmodes of cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labuda, Aleksander; Kocun, Marta; Walsh, Tim; Meinhold, Jieh; Proksch, Tania; Meinhold, Waiman; Anderson, Caleb; Proksch, Roger; Lysy, Martin

2016-01-01

A method is presented for calibrating the higher eigenmodes (resonant modes) of atomic force microscopy cantilevers that can be performed prior to any tip-sample interaction. The method leverages recent efforts in accurately calibrating the first eigenmode by providing the higher-mode stiffness as a ratio to the first mode stiffness. A one-time calibration routine must be performed for every cantilever type to determine a power-law relationship between stiffness and frequency, which is then stored for future use on similar cantilevers. Then, future calibrations only require a measurement of the ratio of resonant frequencies and the stiffness of the first mode. This method is verified through stiffness measurements using three independent approaches: interferometric measurement, AC approach-curve calibration, and finite element analysis simulation. Power-law values for calibrating higher-mode stiffnesses are reported for several cantilever models. Once the higher-mode stiffnesses are known, the amplitude of each mode can also be calibrated from the thermal spectrum by application of the equipartition theorem.

Calibration of higher eigenmodes of cantilevers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labuda, Aleksander; Kocun, Marta; Walsh, Tim; Meinhold, Jieh; Proksch, Tania; Meinhold, Waiman; Anderson, Caleb; Proksch, Roger [Asylum Research, an Oxford Instruments Company, Santa Barbara, California 93117 (United States); Lysy, Martin [Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)

2016-07-15

A method is presented for calibrating the higher eigenmodes (resonant modes) of atomic force microscopy cantilevers that can be performed prior to any tip-sample interaction. The method leverages recent efforts in accurately calibrating the first eigenmode by providing the higher-mode stiffness as a ratio to the first mode stiffness. A one-time calibration routine must be performed for every cantilever type to determine a power-law relationship between stiffness and frequency, which is then stored for future use on similar cantilevers. Then, future calibrations only require a measurement of the ratio of resonant frequencies and the stiffness of the first mode. This method is verified through stiffness measurements using three independent approaches: interferometric measurement, AC approach-curve calibration, and finite element analysis simulation. Power-law values for calibrating higher-mode stiffnesses are reported for several cantilever models. Once the higher-mode stiffnesses are known, the amplitude of each mode can also be calibrated from the thermal spectrum by application of the equipartition theorem.

Nanomechanical cutting of boron nitride nanotubes by atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Meng; Chen, Xiaoming; Ke, Changhong; Park, Cheol; Fay, Catharine C; Pugno, Nicola M

2013-01-01

The length of nanotubes is a critical structural parameter for the design and manufacture of nanotube-based material systems and devices. High-precision length control of nanotubes by means of mechanical cutting using a scriber has not materialized due to the lack of the knowledge of the appropriate cutting conditions and the tube failure mechanism. In this paper, we present a quantitative nanomechanical study of the cutting of individual boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) using atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes. In our nanotube cutting measurements, a nanotube standing still on a flat substrate was laterally scribed by an AFM tip. The tip–tube collision force deformed the tube, and eventually fractured the tube at the collision site by increasing the cutting load. The mechanical response of nanotubes during the tip–tube collision process and the roles of the scribing velocity and the frictional interaction on the tip–tube collision contact in cutting nanotubes were quantitatively investigated by cutting double-walled BNNTs of 2.26–4.28 nm in outer diameter. The fracture strength of BNNTs was also quantified based on the measured collision forces and their structural configurations using contact mechanics theories. Our analysis reports fracture strengths of 9.1–15.5 GPa for the tested BNNTs. The nanomechanical study presented in this paper demonstrates that the AFM-based nanomechanical cutting technique not only enables effective control of the length of nanotubes with high precision, but is also promising as a new nanomechanical testing technique for characterizing the mechanical properties of tubular nanostructures. (paper)

Nanomechanical DNA Origami pH Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinori Kuzuya

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Single-molecule pH sensors have been developed by utilizing molecular imaging of pH-responsive shape transition of nanomechanical DNA origami devices with atomic force microscopy (AFM. Short DNA fragments that can form i-motifs were introduced to nanomechanical DNA origami devices with pliers-like shape (DNA Origami Pliers, which consist of two levers of 170-nm long and 20-nm wide connected at a Holliday-junction fulcrum. DNA Origami Pliers can be observed as in three distinct forms; cross, antiparallel and parallel forms, and cross form is the dominant species when no additional interaction is introduced to DNA Origami Pliers. Introduction of nine pairs of 12-mer sequence (5'-AACCCCAACCCC-3', which dimerize into i-motif quadruplexes upon protonation of cytosine, drives transition of DNA Origami Pliers from open cross form into closed parallel form under acidic conditions. Such pH-dependent transition was clearly imaged on mica in molecular resolution by AFM, showing potential application of the system to single-molecular pH sensors.

A more comprehensive modeling of atomic force microscope cantilever

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahdavi, M.H.; Farshidianfar, A.; Tahani, M.; Mahdavi, S.; Dalir, H.

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on the development of a complete model of an atomic force microscope (AFM) micro-cantilever beam, based on considering the effects of four major factors in modeling the cantilever. They are: rotary inertia and shear deformation of the beam and mass and rotary inertia of the tip. A method based on distributed-parameter modeling approach is proposed to solve the governing equations. The comparisons generally show a very good agreement between the present results and the results of other investigators. As expected, rotary inertia and shear deformation of the beam decrease resonance frequency especially at high ratio of cantilever thickness to its length, and it is relatively more pronounced for higher-order frequencies, than lower ones. Mass and rotary inertia of the tip have similar effects when the mass-ratio of the tip to the cantilever is high. Moreover, the influence of each of these four factors, thickness of the cantilever, density of the tip and inclination of the cantilever on the resonance frequencies has been investigated, separately. It is felt that this work might help the engineers in reducing AFM micro-cantilever design time, by providing insight into the effects of various parameters with the micro-cantilever.

Smell identification of spices using nanomechanical membrane-type surface stress sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Imamura, Gaku; Shiba, Kota; Yoshikawa, Genki

2016-11-01

Artificial olfaction, that is, a chemical sensor system that identifies samples by smell, has not been fully achieved because of the complex perceptional mechanism of olfaction. To realize an artificial olfactory system, not only an array of chemical sensors but also a valid feature extraction method is required. In this study, we achieved the identification of spices by smell using nanomechanical membrane-type surface stress sensors (MSS). Features were extracted from the sensing signals obtained from four MSS coated with different types of polymers, focusing on the chemical interactions between polymers and odor molecules. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the dataset consisting of the extracted parameters demonstrated the separation of each spice on the scatter plot. We discuss the strategy for improving odor identification based on the relationship between the results of PCA and the chemical species in the odors.

Electronically droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers

KAUST Repository

Al Ahmad, Mahmoud Al; Jabbour, Ghassan E.

2012-01-01

A report is presented on free falling droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers. The harvester incorporates a multimorph clamped-free cantilever which is composed of five layers of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric thick films

Analysis of asymmetric resonance response of thermally excited silicon micro-cantilevers for mass-sensitive nanoparticle detection

Science.gov (United States)

Bertke, Maik; Hamdana, Gerry; Wu, Wenze; Suryo Wasisto, Hutomo; Uhde, Erik; Peiner, Erwin

2017-06-01

In this paper, the asymmetric resonance frequency (f 0) responses of thermally in-plane excited silicon cantilevers for a pocket-sized, cantilever-based airborne nanoparticle detector (Cantor) are analysed. By measuring the shift of f 0 caused by the deposition of nanoparticles (NPs), the cantilevers are used as a microbalance. The cantilever sensors are low cost manufactured from silicon by bulk-micromachining techniques and contain an integrated p-type heating actuator and a sensing piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge. f 0 is tracked by a homemade phase-locked loop (PPL) for real-time measurements. To optimize the sensor performance, a new cantilever geometry was designed, fabricated and characterized by its frequency responses. The most significant characterisation parameters of our application are f 0 and the quality factor (Q), which have high influences on sensitivity and efficiency of the NP detector. Regarding the asymmetric resonance signal, a novel fitting function based on the Fano resonance replacing the conventionally used function of the simple harmonic oscillator and a method to calculate Q by its fitting parameters were developed for a quantitative evaluation. To obtain a better understanding of the resonance behaviours, we analysed the origin of the asymmetric line shapes. Therefore, we compared the frequency response of the on-chip thermal excitation with an external excitation using an in-plane piezo actuator. In correspondence to the Fano effect, we could reconstruct the measured resonance curves by coupling two signals with constant amplitude and the expected signal of the cantilever, respectively. Moreover, the phase of the measurement signal can be analysed by this method, which is important to understand the locking process of the PLL circuit. Besides the frequency analysis, experimental results and calibration measurements with different particle types are presented. Using the described analysis method, decent results to optimize a next

Ultra thin films for sensing and heating of microprobes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaitas, A.

2013-01-01

This dissertation aims to advance the current state of cantilevers with integrated metal thermal and deflection sensing elements. Metallic sensing elements enable the use of alternative substrate materials (such as polymers), that tend to exhibit higher compliance properties and are more robust

Nanomechanical sensing of the endothelial cell response to anti-inflammatory action of 1-methylnicotinamide chloride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolodziejczyk AM

2013-08-01

cortical cytoskeleton, as well as NO and PGI2 levels. These results allow us to construct the physiological model of sequential intracellular pathways activated in the endothelium by MNA.Keywords: endothelium, cell stiffness, 1-methylnicotinamide chloride, atomic force microscopy, nanomechanical sensing

Nonlinear Dynamics of Cantilever-Sample Interactions in Atomic Force Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Cantrell, John H.; Cantrell, Sean A.

2010-01-01

The interaction of the cantilever tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) with the sample surface is obtained by treating the cantilever and sample as independent systems coupled by a nonlinear force acting between the cantilever tip and a volume element of the sample surface. The volume element is subjected to a restoring force from the remainder of the sample that provides dynamical equilibrium for the combined systems. The model accounts for the positions on the cantilever of the cantilever tip, laser probe, and excitation force (if any) via a basis set of set of orthogonal functions that may be generalized to account for arbitrary cantilever shapes. The basis set is extended to include nonlinear cantilever modes. The model leads to a pair of coupled nonlinear differential equations that are solved analytically using a matrix iteration procedure. The effects of oscillatory excitation forces applied either to the cantilever or to the sample surface (or to both) are obtained from the solution set and applied to the to the assessment of phase and amplitude signals generated by various acoustic-atomic force microscope (A-AFM) modalities. The influence of bistable cantilever modes of on AFM signal generation is discussed. The effects on the cantilever-sample surface dynamics of subsurface features embedded in the sample that are perturbed by surface-generated oscillatory excitation forces and carried to the cantilever via wave propagation are accounted by the Bolef-Miller propagating wave model. Expressions pertaining to signal generation and image contrast in A-AFM are obtained and applied to amplitude modulation (intermittent contact) atomic force microscopy and resonant difference-frequency atomic force ultrasonic microscopy (RDF-AFUM). The influence of phase accumulation in A-AFM on image contrast is discussed, as is the effect of hard contact and maximum nonlinearity regimes of A-AFM operation.

Cooling and squeezing the fluctuations of a nanomechanical beam by indirect quantum feedback control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jing; Liu Yuxi; Nori, Franco

2009-01-01

We study cooling and squeezing the fluctuations of a nanomechanical beam using quantum feedback control. In our model, the nanomechanical beam is coupled to a transmission line resonator via a superconducting quantum interference device. The leakage of the electromagnetic field from the transmission line resonator is measured using homodyne detection. This measured signal is then used to design a quantum feedback control signal to drive the electromagnetic field in the transmission line resonator. Although the control is imposed on the transmission line resonator, this quantum feedback control signal indirectly affects the thermal motion of the nanomechanical beam via the inductive beam-resonator coupling, making it possible to cool and squeeze the fluctuations of the beam, allowing it to approach the standard quantum limit.

In-situ piezoresponse force microscopy cantilever mode shape profiling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proksch, R.

2015-01-01

The frequency-dependent amplitude and phase in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) measurements are shown to be a consequence of the Euler-Bernoulli (EB) dynamics of atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever beams used to make the measurements. Changes in the cantilever mode shape as a function of changes in the boundary conditions determine the sensitivity of cantilevers to forces between the tip and the sample. Conventional PFM and AFM measurements are made with the motion of the cantilever measured at one optical beam detector (OBD) spot location. A single OBD spot location provides a limited picture of the total cantilever motion, and in fact, experimentally observed cantilever amplitude and phase are shown to be strongly dependent on the OBD spot position for many measurements. In this work, the commonly observed frequency dependence of PFM response is explained through experimental measurements and analytic theoretical EB modeling of the PFM response as a function of both frequency and OBD spot location on a periodically poled lithium niobate sample. One notable conclusion is that a common choice of OBD spot location—at or near the tip of the cantilever—is particularly vulnerable to frequency dependent amplitude and phase variations stemming from dynamics of the cantilever sensor rather than from the piezoresponse of the sample

Accurate spring constant calibration for very stiff atomic force microscopy cantilevers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grutzik, Scott J.; Zehnder, Alan T. [Field of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Gates, Richard S.; Gerbig, Yvonne B.; Smith, Douglas T.; Cook, Robert F. [Nanomechanical Properties Group, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)

2013-11-15

There are many atomic force microscopy (AFM) applications that rely on quantifying the force between the AFM cantilever tip and the sample. The AFM does not explicitly measure force, however, so in such cases knowledge of the cantilever stiffness is required. In most cases, the forces of interest are very small, thus compliant cantilevers are used. A number of methods have been developed that are well suited to measuring low stiffness values. However, in some cases a cantilever with much greater stiffness is required. Thus, a direct, traceable method for calibrating very stiff (approximately 200 N/m) cantilevers is presented here. The method uses an instrumented and calibrated nanoindenter to determine the stiffness of a reference cantilever. This reference cantilever is then used to measure the stiffness of a number of AFM test cantilevers. This method is shown to have much smaller uncertainty than previously proposed methods. An example application to fracture testing of nanoscale silicon beam specimens is included.

Accurate spring constant calibration for very stiff atomic force microscopy cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grutzik, Scott J.; Zehnder, Alan T.; Gates, Richard S.; Gerbig, Yvonne B.; Smith, Douglas T.; Cook, Robert F.

2013-01-01

There are many atomic force microscopy (AFM) applications that rely on quantifying the force between the AFM cantilever tip and the sample. The AFM does not explicitly measure force, however, so in such cases knowledge of the cantilever stiffness is required. In most cases, the forces of interest are very small, thus compliant cantilevers are used. A number of methods have been developed that are well suited to measuring low stiffness values. However, in some cases a cantilever with much greater stiffness is required. Thus, a direct, traceable method for calibrating very stiff (approximately 200 N/m) cantilevers is presented here. The method uses an instrumented and calibrated nanoindenter to determine the stiffness of a reference cantilever. This reference cantilever is then used to measure the stiffness of a number of AFM test cantilevers. This method is shown to have much smaller uncertainty than previously proposed methods. An example application to fracture testing of nanoscale silicon beam specimens is included

In silico modeling and investigation of self-heating effects in composite nano cantilever biosensors with integrated piezoresistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ribu Mathew

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Over the years, piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors have been extensively investigated for various biological sensing applications. Piezoresistive cantilever sensor is a composite structure with different materials constituting its various layers. Design and modeling of such sensors become challenging since their response is governed by the interplay between their geometrical and constituent material parameters. Even though, piezoresistive nano cantilever biosensors have several advantages, they suffer from a limitation in the form of self-heating induced inaccuracy which is seldom considered in design stages. Although, a few simplified mathematical models have been reported which incorporate the self-heating effect, several assumptions made in the modeling stages result in inaccuracy in predicting sensor terminal response. In this paper, we model and investigate the effect of self-heating on the thermo-electro-mechanical response of piezoresistive cantilever sensors as a function of the relative geometries of the piezoresistor and the cantilever platform. Finite element method (FEM based numerical computations are used to model the target-receptor interactions induced surface stress response in steady state and maximize the electrical sensitivity to thermal sensitivity ratio of the sensor. Simulation results show that the conduction mode of heat transfer is the dominant heat transfer mechanism. Furthermore, the isolation and immobilization layers play a critical role in determining the thermal sensitivity of the sensor. It is found that the shorter and wider cantilever platforms are more suitable to reduce self-heating induced inaccuracies. In addition, results depict that the piezoresistor width plays a more dominant role in determining the thermal drift induced inaccuracies compared to the piezoresistor length. It is found that for surface stress sensors at large piezoresistor width, the electrical sensitivity to thermal sensitivity ratio

Magnetic force driven magnetoelectric effect in bi-cantilever composites

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ru; Wu, Gaojian; Zhang, Ning

2017-12-01

The magnetic force driven magnetoelectric (ME) effect in bi-cantilever Mn-Zn-Ferrite /PZT composites is presented. Compared with single cantilever, the ME voltage coefficient in bi-cantilever composite is a little lower and the resonance frequency is higher, but the bi-cantilever structure is advantageous for integration. When the magnetic gap is 3 mm, the ME voltage coefficient can achieve 6.2 Vcm-1Oe-1 at resonance under optimum bias field Hm=1030 Oe; when the magnetic gap is 1.5 mm, the ME voltage coefficient can get the value as high as 4.4 Vcm-1Oe-1 under much lower bias field H=340 Oe. The stable ME effect in bi-cantilever composites has important potential application in the design of new type ME device.

Klebsiella pneumoniae antibiotic resistance identified by atomic ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Vincenzo Ierardi

2017-10-03

Oct 3, 2017 ... back of its high resolution capability, the AFM can analyse the cell .... tains Meropenem, which belongs to the subgroup of car- bapenem. ..... antibiotics using AFM cantilevers as nanomechanical sensors. Nat. Nanotech.

Drift study of SU8 cantilevers in liquid and gaseous environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Tenje, Maria; Keller, Stephan; Dohn, Søren; Davis, Zachary J; Boisen, Anja

2010-05-01

We present a study of the drift, in terms of cantilever deflections without probe/target interactions, of polymeric SU8 cantilevers. The drift is measured in PBS buffer (pH 7.4) and under vacuum (1mbar) conditions. We see that the cantilevers display a large drift in both environments. We believe this is because the polymer matrix absorbs liquid in one situation whereas it is being degassed in the other. An inhomogeneous expansion/contraction of the cantilever is seen because one surface of the cantilever may still have remains of the release layer from the fabrication. To further study the effect, we coat the cantilevers with a hydrophobic coating, perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS). Fully encapsulating the SU8 cantilever greatly reduces the drift in liquid whereas a less significant change is seen in vacuum.

Drift study of SU8 cantilevers in liquid and gaseous environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tenje, Maria; Keller, Stephan Sylvest; Dohn, Søren

2010-01-01

We present a study of the drift, in terms of cantilever deflections without probe/target interactions, of polymeric SU8 cantilevers. The drift is measured in PBS buffer (pH 7.4) and under vacuum (1 mbar) conditions. We see that the cantilevers display a large drift in both environments. We believe...... coat the cantilevers with a hydrophobic coating, perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS). Fully encapsulating the SU8 cantilever greatly reduces the drift in liquid whereas a less significant change is seen in vacuum....... this is because the polymer matrix absorbs liquid in one situation whereas it is being degassed in the other. An inhomogeneous expansion/contraction of the cantilever is seen because one surface of the cantilever may still have remains of the release layer from the fabrication. To further study the effect, we...

Application of nonlinear systems in nanomechanics and nanofluids analytical methods and applications

CERN Document Server

Ganji, Davood Domairry

2015-01-01

With Application of Nonlinear Systems in Nanomechanics and Nanofluids the reader gains a deep and practice-oriented understanding of nonlinear systems within areas of nanotechnology application as well as the necessary knowledge enabling the handling of such systems. The book helps readers understand relevant methods and techniques for solving nonlinear problems, and is an invaluable reference for researchers, professionals and PhD students interested in research areas and industries where nanofluidics and dynamic nano-mechanical systems are studied or applied. The book is useful in areas suc

Fabrication of resonant micro cantilevers with integrated transparent fluidic channel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khan, Faheem; Schmid, Silvan; Davis, Zachary James

2011-01-01

Microfabricated cantilevers are proving their potential as excellent tools for analysis applications. In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication and testing of resonant micro cantilevers with integrated transparent fluidic channels. The cantilevers have been devised to measure the density...

Impact of operation conditions, foulant adsorption, and chemical cleaning on the nanomechanical properties of ultrafiltraion hollow fiber membranes

KAUST Repository

Gutierrez, Leonardo; Keucken, Alexander; Aubry, Cyril; Zaouri, Noor A.; Teychene, Benoit; Croue, Jean-Philippe

2018-01-01

This study analyzed the change in nanomechanical properties of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes harvested from pilot-scale units after twelve months of operation. Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping technique was used to distinguish between

Self-heating in piezoresistive cantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C; Corbin, Elise A; King, William P; Pruitt, Beth L

2011-05-30

We report experiments and models of self-heating in piezoresistive microcantilevers that show how cantilever measurement resolution depends on the thermal properties of the surrounding fluid. The predicted cantilever temperature rise from a finite difference model is compared with detailed temperature measurements on fabricated devices. Increasing the fluid thermal conductivity allows for lower temperature operation for a given power dissipation, leading to lower force and displacement noise. The force noise in air is 76% greater than in water for the same increase in piezoresistor temperature.

Matter-Wave Optics of Diatomic Molecules

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-23

81.013802 10/11/2012 32.00 Swati Singh , Pierre Meystre. Atomic probe Wigner tomography of a nanomechanical system, Physical Review A, (04 2010): 41804...PhysRevA.78.041801 10/11/2012 3.00 S. Singh , M. Bhattacharya, O. Dutta, P. Meystre. Coupling Nanomechanical Cantilevers to Dipolar Molecules...degenerate matter waves, Physical Review A, (02 2009): 0. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.79.023622 10/11/2012 10.00 M. Bhattacharya, S. Singh , P. -L. Giscard

Integrated optical readout for miniaturization of cantilever-based sensor system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordström, Maria; Zauner, Dan; Calleja, Montserrat

2007-01-01

The authors present the fabrication and characterization of an integrated optical readout scheme based on single-mode waveguides for cantilever-based sensors. The cantilever bending is read out by monitoring changes in the optical intensity of light transmitted through the cantilever that also acts...

Cantilevers orthodontics forces measured by fiber sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Neblyssa; Milczewski, Maura S.; de Oliveira, Valmir; Guariza Filho, Odilon; Lopes, Stephani C. P. S.; Kalinowski, Hypolito J.

2015-09-01

Fibers Bragg Gratings were used to evaluate the transmission of the forces generates by orthodontic mechanic based one and two cantilevers used to move molars to the upright position. The results showed levels forces of approximately 0,14N near to the root of the molar with one and two cantilevers.

Development of an Electrochemical-Cantilever Hybrid Platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Lee MacKenzie

. For at binde kobber (II) ioner blev rækker af cantilevere funktionaliseret med aminosyre L-cysteine(Cys) og tetrapeptid Cys-Gly-Gly-His (CGGH). Dette funktionelle lag blev fjernet fra en enkelt cantilever, ved selektivt at anvende et voltammetrisk signal til at generere en ren reference cantilever til brug...

Numerical Simulation of Output Response of PVDF Sensor Attached on a Cantilever Beam Subjected to Impact Loading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cao Vu Dung

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Polyvinylidene Flouride (PVDF is a film-type polymer that has been used as sensors and actuators in various applications due to its mechanical toughness, flexibility, and low density. A PVDF sensor typically covers an area of the host structure over which mechanical stress/strain is averaged and converted to electrical energy. This study investigates the fundamental “stress-averaging” mechanism for dynamic strain sensing in the in-plane mode. A numerical simulation was conducted to simulate the “stress-averaging” mechanism of a PVDF sensor attached on a cantilever beam subjected to an impact loading, taking into account the contribution of piezoelectricity, the cantilever beam’s modal properties, and electronic signal conditioning. Impact tests and FEM analysis were also carried out to verify the numerical simulation results. The results of impact tests indicate the excellent capability of the attached PVDF sensor in capturing the fundamental natural frequencies of the cantilever beam. There is a good agreement between the PVDF sensor’s output voltage predicted by the numerical simulation and that obtained in the impact tests. Parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effects of sensor size and sensor position and it is shown that a larger sensor tends to generate higher output voltage than a smaller one at the same location. However, the effect of sensor location seems to be more significant for larger sensors due to the cancelling problem. Overall, PVDF sensors exhibit excellent sensing capability for in-plane dynamic strain induced by impact loading.

Impact of Isolation and Immobilization Layers on the Electro-Mechanical Response of Piezoresistive Nano Cantilever Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Ribu; Sankar, A Ravi

2018-03-01

In the last decade, piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors have been extensively explored, especially for chemical and biological sensing applications. Piezoresistive cantilever sensors are multi-layer structures with different constituent materials. Performance of such sensors is a function of their geometry and constituent materials. For a fixed material set, the pre-requisite for optimizing the performance of a composite piezoresistive cantilever sensor is careful geometrical design of its constituent layers. Even though, treatise encompasses various designs of such sensors, typically for computational simplicity the functional layers i.e., the isolation and immobilization layers are neglected in the modeling stages. In this paper, we elucidate the impact of the functional layers on the electro-mechanical response of composite piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors. Systematic and detailed computations are performed using theoretical models and numerical simulations. Results show that both the isolation and immobilization layers play a critical role in governing the sensor performance. Simulation results depict that compared to a sensor with an isolation layer of thickness 100 nm, a sensor without isolation layer has 36.29% and 42.51% better deflection sensitivity and electrical sensitivity respectively. Furthermore, it is found that when an immobilization layer of thickness 40 nm is added atop the isolation layer, the deflection sensitivity and electrical sensitivity reduces by 12.98% and 15.83% respectively. Through our investigation it is shown that the isolation and immobilization layers not only play a vital role in determining the stability and electro-mechanical response of the sensor but their negligence in the design stages can be detrimental. Apart from investigating the impact of the immobilization layer thickness, to model the sensor closer to real time operational conditions, we have performed analysis to understand the impact of non-uniformity in

Microstructure and nanomechanical properties of Fe+ implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes, B.; Magalhães, S.; Franco, N.; Alves, E.; Colaço, R.

2013-01-01

Silicon wafers were implanted with iron ions at different fluences (from 5 × 10 15 up to 2 × 10 17 cm −2 ), followed by annealing treatments at temperatures from 550 °C to 1000 °C, aiming at evaluating the nanomechanical response of the samples and its relation with the microstructural features and characteristics of the modified layer. After implantation, a homogeneous amorphous layer with a thickness between 200 nm and 270 nm is formed, without damaging the surface smoothness neither introducing surface defects. After annealing, recrystallization and formation of nanometric precipitates of iron silicides is observed, with the corresponding changes in the hardness and stiffness of the modified layer. These results indicate that ion implantation of silicon followed by annealing at proper temperatures, can be an alternative route to be deeper explored in what concerns the precise control of the microstructure and, thus, the improvement of nanomechanical properties of silicon.

Optimization of sensitivity and noise in piezoresistive cantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Xiaomei; Thaysen, Jacob; Hansen, Ole

2002-01-01

In this article, the sensitivity and the noise of piezoresistive cantilevers were systematically investigated with respect to the piezoresistor geometry, the piezoresistive materials, the doping dose, the annealing temperature, and the operating biased voltage. With the noise optimization results......(-6), the biggest gauge factors was 95, and the minimum detectable deflection (MDD) at 6 V and 200 Hz-measurement bandwidth was 0.3 nm for a single-crystal silicon cantilever. Of the two LPCVD silicon piezoresistive cantilevers, amorphous silicon piezoresistors had relatively lower 1/f noise. The MDD for a LPCVD...

Resonance frequencies of AFM cantilevers in contact with a surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verbiest, G.J., E-mail: Verbiest@physik.rwth-aachen.de [JARA-FIT and II. Institute of Physics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen (Germany); Rost, M.J., E-mail: Rost@physics.leidenuniv.nl [Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9504, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands)

2016-12-15

To make the forces in an Atomic Force Microscope that operates in a dynamic mode with one or multiple vibrations applied to the cantilever, quantitative, one needs to relate a change in resonance frequency of the cantilever to a specific tip–sample interaction. Due to the time dependence of the force between the tip and sample caused by the vibrations, this task is not only difficult, but in fact only possible to solve for certain limiting cases, if one follows common theoretical approaches with a Taylor expansion around the deflection point. Here, we present an analytical method for calculating the resonance frequencies of the cantilever that is valid for any tip–sample interaction. Instead of linearizing the tip–sample interaction locally, we calculate an averaged, weighted linearization taking into account all positions of the tip while vibrating. Our method bridges, therefore, the difficult gap between a free oscillating cantilever and a cantilever that is pushed infinitely hard into contact with a surface, which describes a clamped-pinned boundary condition. For a correct description of the cantilever dynamics, we take into account both the tip mass and the tip moment of inertia. Applying our model, we show that it is possible to calculate the modal response of a cantilever as a function of the tip–sample interaction strength. Based on these modal vibration characteristics, we show that the higher resonance frequencies of a cantilever are completely insensitive to the strength of the tip–sample interaction. - Highlights: • A method to calculate the resonances of AFM cantilevers under any force is proposed. • The analytical model is based on Euler-beam theory. • The shift in resonance frequency due to forces decrease with increasing mode number. • The proposed method enables quantitative ultrasound AFM experiments. • Our results explain also the applicability of the higher modes in SubSurface-AFM.

Micromechanical testing of SU-8 cantilevers

OpenAIRE

Hopcroft, M; Kramer, T; Kim, G; Takashima, K; Higo, Y; Moore, D; Brugger, J

2005-01-01

SU-8 is a photoplastic polymer with a wide range of possible applications in microtechnology. Cantilevers designed for atomic force microscopes were fabricated in SU-8. The mechanical properties of these cantilevers were investigated using two microscale testing techniques: contact surface profilometer beam deflection and static load deflection at a point on the beam using a specially designed test machine. The SU-8 Young's modulus value from the microscale test methods is approximately 2-3 GPa.

Cantilever-based micro-particle filter with simultaneous single particle detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Noeth, Nadine-Nicole; Keller, Stephan Sylvest; Boisen, Anja

2011-01-01

Currently, separation of whole blood samples on lab-on-a-chip systems is achieved via filters followed by analysis of the filtered matter such as counting of blood cells. Here, a micro-chip based on cantilever technology is developed, which enables simultaneous filtration and counting of micro-particles...... from a liquid. A hole-array is integrated into a micro-cantilever, which is inserted into a microfluidic channel perpendicular to the flow. A metal pad at the apex of the cantilever enables an optical read-out of the deflection of the cantilever. When a micro-particle is too large to pass a hole...

Nanomechanical Characterization of Indium Nano/Microwires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N Kiran MSR

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Nanomechanical properties of indium nanowires like structures fabricated on quartz substrate by trench template technique, measured using nanoindentation. The hardness and elastic modulus of wires were measured and compared with the values of indium thin film. Displacement burst observed while indenting the nanowire. ‘Wire-only hardness’ obtained using Korsunsky model from composite hardness. Nanowires have exhibited almost same modulus as indium thin film but considerable changes were observed in hardness value.

Pembuatan Cantilever Bridge Anterior Rahang Atas sebagai Koreksi Estetik

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusrina Sumartati

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Latar belakang. Kehilangan gigi anterior rahang atas mengakibatkan gangguan fungsi fonetik dan estetik. Gangguan fungsi estetik menyebabkan pasie menjadi rendah diri. Kondisi ini dapat diatasi oleh dokter gigi, salah satunya dengan pembuatan cantilever bridge. Tujuan. Penulisan ini yaitu untuk memberi informasi bahwa pada kasus kehilangan gigi-gigi anterior rahang atas dengan space yang telah menyempit dan malposisi gigi dapat dibuatkan protesa berupa gigi tiruan cekat dengan desain cantilever bridge. Kasus dan perawatan. Laporan kasus ini membahas tentang pasien perempuan umur 39 tahun yang datang ke Rumah Sakit Gigi dan Mulut Prof. Soedomo, dengan keluhan merasa kurang percaya diri karena gigi depan rahang atas hilang sejak 5 tahun yang lalu akibat kecelakaan. Gigi-gigi anterior rahang atas yang masih ada mengalami malposisi akibat pemakaian gigi tiruan sebagian lepasan yang tidak baik. Perawatan yang dilakukan adalah dengan pembuatan cantilever bridge pada gigi 11, 12, 13 dan 21, 22, 23. Kesimpulan. Gangguan fungsi estetik pada gigi anterior rahang atas dapat diatasi dengan pembuatan cantilever bridge.   Background. Maxillary anteriortooth loss resulting in impaired function of phonetic and aesthetic. Impaired function of aesthetic cause patients to become self conscious. This condition can be treated by a dentist, one with a cantilever bridge. Purpose. To inform that in case of missing anterior teeth of the upper jaw with a space that has been narrowed, and malposition of teeth can be made prosthesis denture fixed bridge with a cantilever design. Case and treatment. This case report discusses the 39 years old female patient who came to he Dental Hospital Prof. Soedomo, with complaints of feeling less confident due to the maxillary front teeth missing since 5 years ago due to an accident. Anterior teeth of the upper jaw are still experiencing malposition due to the use of removable partial dentures are not good. The treatment is done is by

Microfluidic Transducer for Detecting Nanomechanical Movements of Bacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Kara, Vural; Ekinci, Kamil

2017-11-01

Various nanomechanical movements of bacteria are currently being explored as an indication of bacterial viability. Most notably, these movements have been observed to subside rapidly and dramatically when the bacteria are exposed to an effective antibiotic. This suggests that monitoring bacterial movements, if performed with high fidelity, can offer a path to various clinical microbiological applications, including antibiotic susceptibility tests. Here, we introduce a robust and sensitive microfluidic transduction technique for detecting the nanomechanical movements of bacteria. The technique is based on measuring the electrical fluctuations in a microchannel which the bacteria populate. These electrical fluctuations are caused by the swimming of motile, planktonic bacteria and random oscillations of surface-immobilized bacteria. The technique provides enough sensitivity to detect even the slightest movements of a single cell and lends itself to smooth integration with other microfluidic methods and devices; it may eventually be used for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing. We acknowledge support from Boston University Office of Technology Development, Boston University College of Engineering, NIH (1R03AI126168-01) and The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

SU-8 Cantilever Sensor with Integrated Read-Out

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Alicia Charlotte

2007-01-01

Cantilever baserede biosensorer kan bruges til så kaldet label-free detektion af små koncentrationer af molekyler i en opløsning. Når et specifikt molekyle binder til overfladen af en cantilever induceres et overfladestress som resulterer i en udbøjning af cantileveren. Cantileverens udbøjningen ...

Microstructure cantilever beam for current measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.T.E. Khan

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Most microelectromechanical systems (MEMS sensors are based on the microcantilever technology, which uses a broad range of design materials and structures. The benefit ofMEMStechnology is in developing devices with a lower cost, lower power consumption, higher performance and greater integration. A free-end cantilever beam with a magnetic material mass has been designed using MEMS software tools. The magnetic material was used to improve the sensitivity of the cantilever beam to an externally-applied magnetic field. The cantilever was designed to form a capacitance transducer, which consisted of variable capacitance where electrical and mechanical energies were exchanged. The aim of this paper was to analyse the system design of the microcantilever when subjected to a magnetic field produced by a current-carrying conductor. When the signal, a sinusoidal current with a constant frequency, was applied, the cantilever beam exhibited a vibration motion along the vertical axis when placed closer to the line current. This motion created corresponding capacitance changes and generated a voltage output proportional to the capacitive change in the signal-processing circuitry attached to the microcantilever. The equivalent massspring system theory was used to describe and analyse the effect of the natural frequency of the system vibrations and motion due to the applied magnetic field, in a single-degree of freedom. The main application of this microcantilever is in current measurements to develop a non-contact current sensor mote.

SU-8 hollow cantilevers for AFM cell adhesion studies

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Vincent; Behr, Pascal; Drechsler, Ute; Polesel-Maris, Jérôme; Potthoff, Eva; Vörös, Janos; Zambelli, Tomaso

2016-05-01

A novel fabrication method was established to produce flexible, transparent, and robust tipless hollow atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers made entirely from SU-8. Channels of 3 μm thickness and several millimeters length were integrated into 12 μm thick and 40 μm wide cantilevers. Connected to a pressure controller, the devices showed high sealing performance with no leakage up to 6 bars. Changing the cantilever lengths from 100 μm to 500 μm among the same wafer allowed the targeting of various spring constants ranging from 0.5 to 80 N m-1 within a single fabrication run. These hollow polymeric AFM cantilevers were operated in the optical beam deflection configuration. To demonstrate the performance of the device, single-cell force spectroscopy experiments were performed with a single probe detaching in a serial protocol more than 100 Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells from plain glass and glass coated with polydopamine while measuring adhesion forces in the sub-nanoNewton range. SU-8 now offers a new alternative to conventional silicon-based hollow cantilevers with more flexibility in terms of complex geometric design and surface chemistry modification.

SU-8 hollow cantilevers for AFM cell adhesion studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, Vincent; Behr, Pascal; Vörös, Janos; Zambelli, Tomaso; Drechsler, Ute; Polesel-Maris, Jérôme; Potthoff, Eva

2016-01-01

A novel fabrication method was established to produce flexible, transparent, and robust tipless hollow atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers made entirely from SU-8. Channels of 3 μm thickness and several millimeters length were integrated into 12 μm thick and 40 μm wide cantilevers. Connected to a pressure controller, the devices showed high sealing performance with no leakage up to 6 bars. Changing the cantilever lengths from 100 μm to 500 μm among the same wafer allowed the targeting of various spring constants ranging from 0.5 to 80 N m −1 within a single fabrication run. These hollow polymeric AFM cantilevers were operated in the optical beam deflection configuration. To demonstrate the performance of the device, single-cell force spectroscopy experiments were performed with a single probe detaching in a serial protocol more than 100 Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells from plain glass and glass coated with polydopamine while measuring adhesion forces in the sub-nanoNewton range. SU-8 now offers a new alternative to conventional silicon-based hollow cantilevers with more flexibility in terms of complex geometric design and surface chemistry modification. (paper)

Multi-directional energy harvesting by piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum with internal resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, J.; Tang, J., E-mail: jtang@engr.uconn.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269 (United States)

2015-11-23

This letter reports a piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum design for multi-directional energy harvesting. A pendulum is attached to the tip of a piezoelectric cantilever-type energy harvester. This design aims at taking advantage of the nonlinear coupling between the pendulum motion in 3-dimensional space and the beam bending vibration at resonances. Experimental studies indicate that, under properly chosen parameters, 1:2 internal resonance can be induced, which enables the multi-directional energy harvesting with a single cantilever. The advantages of the design with respect to traditional piezoelectric cantilever are examined.

Multi-directional energy harvesting by piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum with internal resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.; Tang, J.

2015-01-01

This letter reports a piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum design for multi-directional energy harvesting. A pendulum is attached to the tip of a piezoelectric cantilever-type energy harvester. This design aims at taking advantage of the nonlinear coupling between the pendulum motion in 3-dimensional space and the beam bending vibration at resonances. Experimental studies indicate that, under properly chosen parameters, 1:2 internal resonance can be induced, which enables the multi-directional energy harvesting with a single cantilever. The advantages of the design with respect to traditional piezoelectric cantilever are examined

Polymer cantilever platform for dielectrophoretic assembly of carbon nanotubes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Alicia; Calleja, M.; Dimaki, Maria

2004-01-01

A polymer cantilever platform for dielectrophoretic assembly of carbon nanotubes has been designed and realized. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes from aqueous solution have been assembled between two metal electrodes that are separated by 2 mu m and embedded in the polymer cantilever. The entire chip......, except for the metallic electrodes and wiring, was fabricated in the photoresist SU-8. SU-8 allows for an inexpensive, flexible and fast fabrication method, and the cantilever platform provides a hydrophobic surface that should be well suited for nanotube assembly. The device can be integrated in a micro...

Influence of Poisson's ratio variation on lateral spring constant of atomic force microscopy cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeh, M.-K.; Tai, N.-Ha; Chen, B.-Y.

2008-01-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to measure the surface morphologies and the mechanical properties of nanostructures. The force acting on the AFM cantilever can be obtained by multiplying the spring constant of AFM cantilever and the corresponding deformation. To improve the accuracy of force experiments, the spring constant of AFM cantilever must be calibrated carefully. Many methods, such as theoretical equations, the finite element method, and the use of reference cantilever, were reported to obtain the spring constant of AFM cantilevers. For the cantilever made of single crystal, the Poisson's ratio varies with different cantilever-crystal angles. In this paper, the influences of Poisson's ratio variation on the lateral spring constant and axial spring constant of rectangular and V-shaped AFM cantilevers, with different tilt angles and normal forces, were investigated by the finite element analysis. When the cantilever's tilt angle is 20 deg. and the Poisson's ratio varies from 0.02 to 0.4, the finite element results show that the lateral spring constants decrease 11.75% for the rectangular cantilever with 1 μN landing force and decrease 18.60% for the V-shaped cantilever with 50 nN landing force, respectively. The influence of Poisson's ratio variation on axial spring constant is less than 3% for both rectangular and V-shaped cantilevers. As the tilt angle increases, the axial spring constants for rectangular and V-shaped cantilevers decrease substantially. The results obtained can be used to improve the accuracy of the lateral force measurement when using atomic force microscopy

Innovative multi-cantilever array sensor system with MOEMS read-out

Science.gov (United States)

Ivaldi, F.; Bieniek, T.; Janus, P.; Grabiec, P.; Majstrzyk, W.; Kopiec, D.; Gotszalk, T.

2016-11-01

Cantilever based sensor system are a well-established sensor family exploited in several every-day life applications as well as in high-end research areas. The very high sensitivity of such systems and the possibility to design and functionalize the cantilevers to create purpose built and highly selective sensors have increased the interest of the scientific community and the industry in further exploiting this promising sensors type. Optical deflection detection systems for cantilever sensors provide a reliable, flexible method for reading information from cantilevers with the highest sensitivity. However the need of using multi-cantilever arrays in several fields of application such as medicine, biology or safety related areas, make the optical method less suitable due to its structural complexity. Working in the frame of a the Joint Undertaking project Lab4MEMS II our group proposes a novel and innovative approach to solve this issue, by integrating a Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-System (MOEMS) with dedicated optics, electronics and software with a MOEMS micro-mirror, ultimately developed in the frame of Lab4MEMSII. In this way we are able to present a closely packed, lightweight solution combining the advantages of standard optical read-out systems with the possibility of recording multiple read-outs from large cantilever arrays quasi simultaneously.

Quantum Optics with Nanomechanical and Solid State Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaehne, K.

2009-01-01

This thesis presents theoretical studies in an interfacing field of quantum optics, nanomechanics and mesoscopic solid state physics and proposes new methods for the generation of particular quantum states and quantum state transfer for selected hybrid systems. The first part of this thesis focuses on the quantum limit of a macroscopic object, a nanomechanical resonator. This is studied for two different physical systems. The first one is a nanomechanical beam incorporated in a superconducting circuit, in particular a loop-shaped Cooper pair box (CPB) - circuit. We present a scheme for ground state cooling of the flexural mode of the nanomechanical beam. Via the Lorentz force coupling of the beam motion to circulating CPB-circuit currents, energy is transferred to the CPB qubit which acts as a dissipative two-level system. The cooling process is driven by a detuned gate-voltage drive acting on the CPB. We analyze the cooling force spectrum and present analytical expressions for the cooling rate and final occupation number for a wide parameter regime. In particular, we find that cooling is optimized in a strong drive regime, and we present the necessary conditions for ground-state cooling. In a second system, we investigate the creation of squeezed states of a mechanical oscillator (a vibrating membrane or a movable mirror) in an optomechanical setup. An optical cavity is driven by squeezed light and couples via radiation pressure to the mechanical oscillator, effectively providing a squeezed heat-bath for the mechanical oscillator. Under the conditions of laser cooling to the ground state, we find an efficient transfer of squeezing with roughly 60% of light squeezing conveyed to the mechanical oscillator (on a dB scale). We determine the requirements on the carrier frequency and the bandwidth of squeezed light. Beyond the conditions for ground state cooling, we predict mechanical squashing to be observable in current systems. The second part of the thesis is

Three-dimensional nanomechanical mapping of amorphous and crystalline phase transitions in phase-change materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Grishin, Ilja; Huey, Bryan D; Kolosov, Oleg V

2013-11-13

The nanostructure of micrometer-sized domains (bits) in phase-change materials (PCM) that undergo switching between amorphous and crystalline phases plays a key role in the performance of optical PCM-based memories. Here, we explore the dynamics of such phase transitions by mapping PCM nanostructures in three dimensions with nanoscale resolution by combining precision Ar ion beam cross-sectional polishing and nanomechanical ultrasonic force microscopy (UFM) mapping. Surface and bulk phase changes of laser written submicrometer to micrometer sized amorphous-to-crystalline (SET) and crystalline-to-amorphous (RESET) bits in chalcogenide Ge2Sb2Te5 PCM are observed with 10-20 nm lateral and 4 nm depth resolution. UFM mapping shows that the Young's moduli of crystalline SET bits exceed the moduli of amorphous areas by 11 ± 2%, with crystalline content extending from a few nanometers to 50 nm in depth depending on the energy of the switching pulses. The RESET bits written with 50 ps pulses reveal shallower depth penetration and show 30-50 nm lateral and few nanometer vertical wavelike topography that is anticorrelated with the elastic modulus distribution. Reverse switching of amorphous RESET bits results in the full recovery of subsurface nanomechanical properties accompanied with only partial topography recovery, resulting in surface corrugations attributed to quenching. This precision sectioning and nanomechanical mapping approach could be applicable to a wide range of amorphous, nanocrystalline, and glass-forming materials for 3D nanomechanical mapping of amorphous-crystalline transitions.

Efficiency Enhancement of a Cantilever-Based Vibration Energy Harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali E. Kubba

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Extracting energy from ambient vibration to power wireless sensor nodes has been an attractive area of research, particularly in the automotive monitoring field. This article reports the design, analysis and testing of a vibration energy harvesting device based on a miniature asymmetric air-spaced cantilever. The developed design offers high power density, and delivers electric power that is sufficient to support most wireless sensor nodes for structural health monitoring (SHM applications. The optimized design underwent three evolutionary steps, starting from a simple cantilever design, going through an air-spaced cantilever, and ending up with an optimized air-spaced geometry with boosted power density level. Finite Element Analysis (FEA was used as an initial tool to compare the three geometries’ stiffness (K, output open-circuit voltage (Vave, and average normal strain in the piezoelectric transducer (εave that directly affect its output voltage. Experimental tests were also carried out in order to examine the energy harvesting level in each of the three designs. The experimental results show how to boost the power output level in a thin air-spaced cantilever beam for energy within the same space envelope. The developed thin air-spaced cantilever (8.37 cm3, has a maximum power output of 2.05 mW (H = 29.29 μJ/cycle.

Single-bacterium nanomechanics in biomedicine: unravelling the dynamics of bacterial cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguayo, S; Bozec, L; Donos, N; Spratt, D

2015-01-01

The use of the atomic force microscope (AFM) in microbiology has progressed significantly throughout the years since its first application as a high-resolution imaging instrument. Modern AFM setups are capable of characterizing the nanomechanical behaviour of bacterial cells at both the cellular and molecular levels, where elastic properties and adhesion forces of single bacterium cells can be examined under different experimental conditions. Considering that bacterial and biofilm-mediated infections continue to challenge the biomedical field, it is important to understand the biophysical events leading towards bacterial adhesion and colonization on both biological and non-biological substrates. The purpose of this review is to present the latest findings concerning the field of single-bacterium nanomechanics, and discuss future trends and applications of nanoindentation and single-cell force spectroscopy techniques in biomedicine. (topical review)

Cantilever surface stress sensors with single-crystalline silicon piezoresistors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Peter Andreas; Hansen, Ole; Boisen, Anja

2005-01-01

We present a cantilever with piezoresistive readout optimized for measuring the static deflection due to isotropic surface stress on the surface of the cantilever [Sens. Actuators B 79(2-3), 115 (2001)]. To our knowledge nobody has addressed the difference in physical regimes, and its influence o...

High quality factor gigahertz frequencies in nanomechanical diamond resonators

OpenAIRE

Gaidarzhy, Alexei; Imboden, Matthias; Mohanty, Pritiraj; Rankin, Janet; Sheldon, Brian W.

2007-01-01

We report actuation and detection of gigahertz-range resonance frequencies in nano-crystalline diamond mechanical resonators. High order transverse vibration modes are measured in coupled-beam resonators exhibiting frequencies up to 1.441 GHz. The cantilever-array design of the resonators translates the gigahertz-range resonant motion of micron-long cantilever elements to the displacement of the central supporting structure. Use of nano-crystalline diamond further increases the frequency comp...

Sobol method application in dimensional sensitivity analyses of different AFM cantilevers for biological particles

Science.gov (United States)

Korayem, M. H.; Taheri, M.; Ghahnaviyeh, S. D.

2015-08-01

Due to the more delicate nature of biological micro/nanoparticles, it is necessary to compute the critical force of manipulation. The modeling and simulation of reactions and nanomanipulator dynamics in a precise manipulation process require an exact modeling of cantilevers stiffness, especially the stiffness of dagger cantilevers because the previous model is not useful for this investigation. The stiffness values for V-shaped cantilevers can be obtained through several methods. One of them is the PBA method. In another approach, the cantilever is divided into two sections: a triangular head section and two slanted rectangular beams. Then, deformations along different directions are computed and used to obtain the stiffness values in different directions. The stiffness formulations of dagger cantilever are needed for this sensitivity analyses so the formulations have been driven first and then sensitivity analyses has been started. In examining the stiffness of the dagger-shaped cantilever, the micro-beam has been divided into two triangular and rectangular sections and by computing the displacements along different directions and using the existing relations, the stiffness values for dagger cantilever have been obtained. In this paper, after investigating the stiffness of common types of cantilevers, Sobol sensitivity analyses of the effects of various geometric parameters on the stiffness of these types of cantilevers have been carried out. Also, the effects of different cantilevers on the dynamic behavior of nanoparticles have been studied and the dagger-shaped cantilever has been deemed more suitable for the manipulation of biological particles.

Strontium effects on root dentin tubule occlusion and nanomechanical properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeki, Kuniko; Marshall, Grayson W; Gansky, Stuart A; Parkinson, Charles R; Marshall, Sally J

2016-02-01

Dentin hypersensitivity often is treated by promotion of dentin tubule occlusion. In this in vitro study we evaluated nanomechanical properties and degree of tubule occlusion conferred to sound and demineralized human root dentin following treatment with a 10% (w/w) strontium acetate solution and its relation to the treatment duration and delivery method. 24 human cervical root dentin disks (8 groups of 3) were polished through 0.25 μm. 12 disks were subjected to an acid challenge (1% citric acid, pH 3.8) for 2 min. The specimens were incubated in artificial saliva, treated by soaking or brushing with deionized (DI) water or a solution of 10% strontium acetate for 2 min twice a day for 28 days. The occlusion percent and nanomechanical properties were determined at the baseline, 5, 14 and 28 days. Cross-sectioned specimens were prepared to evaluate the depth affected by strontium acetate / dentin interaction by SEM. Statistical analysis was performed using linear mixed effects models. A 10% strontium acetate treatment over 5-28 days significantly increased tubule occlusion for normal root dentin and to a lesser extent for demineralized dentin and increased the AFM based nanomechanical properties of demineralized dentin. Brushing was more effective than soaking in recovery of properties of demineralized dentin when treated with strontium. No difference in tubuleocclusion was found between the two delivery methods. Strontium acetate itself proved to have the ability to occlude dentin tubules and result in small changes in the mechanical properties of dentin. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bi-harmonic cantilever design for improved measurement sensitivity in tapping-mode atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loganathan, Muthukumaran; Bristow, Douglas A., E-mail: dbristow@mst.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65401 (United States)

2014-04-15

This paper presents a method and cantilever design for improving the mechanical measurement sensitivity in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tapping mode. The method uses two harmonics in the drive signal to generate a bi-harmonic tapping trajectory. Mathematical analysis demonstrates that the wide-valley bi-harmonic tapping trajectory is as much as 70% more sensitive to changes in the sample topography than the standard single-harmonic trajectory typically used. Although standard AFM cantilevers can be driven in the bi-harmonic tapping trajectory, they require large forcing at the second harmonic. A design is presented for a bi-harmonic cantilever that has a second resonant mode at twice its first resonant mode, thereby capable of generating bi-harmonic trajectories with small forcing signals. Bi-harmonic cantilevers are fabricated by milling a small cantilever on the interior of a standard cantilever probe using a focused ion beam. Bi-harmonic drive signals are derived for standard cantilevers and bi-harmonic cantilevers. Experimental results demonstrate better than 30% improvement in measurement sensitivity using the bi-harmonic cantilever. Images obtained through bi-harmonic tapping exhibit improved sharpness and surface tracking, especially at high scan speeds and low force fields.

Bi-harmonic cantilever design for improved measurement sensitivity in tapping-mode atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Loganathan, Muthukumaran; Bristow, Douglas A

2014-04-01

This paper presents a method and cantilever design for improving the mechanical measurement sensitivity in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) tapping mode. The method uses two harmonics in the drive signal to generate a bi-harmonic tapping trajectory. Mathematical analysis demonstrates that the wide-valley bi-harmonic tapping trajectory is as much as 70% more sensitive to changes in the sample topography than the standard single-harmonic trajectory typically used. Although standard AFM cantilevers can be driven in the bi-harmonic tapping trajectory, they require large forcing at the second harmonic. A design is presented for a bi-harmonic cantilever that has a second resonant mode at twice its first resonant mode, thereby capable of generating bi-harmonic trajectories with small forcing signals. Bi-harmonic cantilevers are fabricated by milling a small cantilever on the interior of a standard cantilever probe using a focused ion beam. Bi-harmonic drive signals are derived for standard cantilevers and bi-harmonic cantilevers. Experimental results demonstrate better than 30% improvement in measurement sensitivity using the bi-harmonic cantilever. Images obtained through bi-harmonic tapping exhibit improved sharpness and surface tracking, especially at high scan speeds and low force fields.

On the calibration of rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers modified by particle attachment and lamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowen, James; Zhang, Zhibing; Adams, Michael J; Cheneler, David; Ward, Michael C L; Walliman, Dominic; Arkless, Stuart G

2010-01-01

A simple but effective method for estimating the spring constant of commercially available atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers is presented, based on estimating the cantilever thickness from knowledge of its length, width, resonant frequency and the presence or absence of an added mass, such as a colloid probe at the cantilever apex, or a thin film of deposited material. The spring constant of the cantilever can then be estimated using standard equations for cantilever beams. The results are compared to spring constant calibration measurements performed using reference cantilevers. Additionally, the effect of the deposition of Cr and Ti thin films onto rectangular Si cantilevers is investigated

GaAs-based micro/nanomechanical resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi

2017-10-01

Micro/nanomechanical resonators have been extensively studied both for device applications, such as high-performance sensors and high-frequency devices, and for fundamental science, such as quantum physics in macroscopic objects. The advantages of GaAs-based semiconductor heterostructures include improved mechanical properties through strain engineering, highly controllable piezoelectric transduction, carrier-mediated optomechanical coupling, and hybridization with quantum low-dimensional structures. This article reviews our recent activities, as well as those of other groups, on the physics and applications of mechanical resonators fabricated using GaAs-based heterostructures.

Energy harvesting from radio frequency propagation using piezoelectric cantilevers

KAUST Repository

Al Ahmad, Mahmoud

2012-02-01

This work reports an induced strain in a piezoelectric cantilever due to radio frequency signal propagation. The piezoelectric actuator is coupled to radio frequency (RF) line through a gap of 0.25 mm. When a voltage signal of 10 Vpp propagates in the line it sets an alternating current in the actuator electrodes. This flowing current drives the piezoelectric cantilever to mechanical movement, especially when the frequency of the RF signal matches the mechanical resonant frequency of the cantilever. Output voltage signals versus frequency for both mechanical vibrational and RF signal excitations have been measured using different loads.© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conductive oxide cantilever for cryogenic nano-potentiometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiroya, Tsutomu; Inagaki, Katsuhiko; Tanda, Satoshi; Tsuneta, Taku; Yamaya, Kazuhiko

2003-01-01

Nanoscale electrical transport properties have attracted attentions because of new phenomena such as ballistic transport, quantized resistance, and Coulomb blockade. For measurement of nanoscale resistance, we have been developing a cryogenic atomic force microscope that can operate at 1.8 K. To use it as an electrode, we coated the cantilever with conductive oxides of TiO and indium tin oxide (ITO). We verified that TiO and ITO thin films remain conductive even at 4.2 K. Also we measured I-V characteristics of the tip-sample contact with a standard sample of NbSe 2 single crystal, and found that the conductive coats were not lost under large stresses due to the tip-sample contact. Moreover, we succeeded in obtaining a room temperature nano-potentiometry of a gold thin film with the ITO coated cantilever. In conclusion, the TiO and ITO coated cantilevers are applicable to cryogenic nano-potentiometry

Cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

S Srinivasulu Raju; M Umapathy; G Uma

2015-01-01

Energy harvesting employing piezoelectric materials in mechanical structures such as cantilever beams, plates, diaphragms, etc, has been an emerging area of research in recent years. The research in this area is also focused on structural tailoring to improve the harvested power from the energy harvesters. Towards this aim, this paper presents a method for improving the harvested power from a cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester by introducing multiple rectangular cavities. A generalized model for a piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple rectangular cavities at a single section and two sections is developed. A method is suggested to optimize the thickness of the cavities and the number of cavities required to generate a higher output voltage for a given cantilever beam structure. The performance of the optimized energy harvesters is evaluated analytically and through experimentation. The simulation and experimental results show that the performance of the energy harvester can be increased with multiple cavities compared to the harvester with a single cavity. (paper)

Dynamic state switching in nonlinear multiferroic cantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi; Onuta, Tiberiu-Dan; Long, Christian J.; Lofland, Samuel E.; Takeuchi, Ichiro

2013-03-01

We demonstrate read-write-read-erase cyclical mechanical-memory properties of all-thin-film multiferroic heterostructured Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3 / Fe0.7Ga0.3 cantilevers when a high enough voltage around the resonant frequency of the device is applied on the Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48) O3 piezo-film. The device state switching process occurs due to the presence of a hysteresis loop in the piezo-film frequency response, which comes from the nonlinear behavior of the cantilever. The reference frequency at which the strain-mediated Fe0.7Ga0.3 based multiferroic device switches can also be tuned by applying a DC magnetic field bias that contributes to the increase of the cantilever effective stiffness. The switching dynamics is mapped in the phase space of the device measured transfer function characteristic for such high piezo-film voltage excitation, providing additional information on the dynamical stability of the devices.

Nanomechanics of layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte complexes: a manifestation of ionic cross-links and fixed charges.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Biao; Chery, Daphney R; Yin, Jie; Lu, X Lucas; Lee, Daeyeon; Han, Lin

2016-01-28

This study investigates the roles of two distinct features of ionically cross-linked polyelectrolyte networks - ionic cross-links and fixed charges - in determining their nanomechanical properties. The layer-by-layer assembled poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) network is used as the model material. The densities of ionic cross-links and fixed charges are modulated through solution pH and ionic strength (IS), and the swelling ratio, elastic and viscoelastic properties are quantified via an array of atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanomechanical tools. The roles of ionic cross-links are underscored by the distinctive elastic and viscoelastic nanomechanical characters observed here. First, as ionic cross-links are highly sensitive to solution conditions, the instantaneous modulus, E0, exhibits orders-of-magnitude changes upon pH- and IS-governed swelling, distinctive from the rubber elasticity prediction based on permanent covalent cross-links. Second, ionic cross-links can break and self-re-form, and this mechanism dominates force relaxation of PAH/PAA under a constant indentation depth. In most states, the degree of relaxation is >90%, independent of ionic cross-link density. The importance of fixed charges is highlighted by the unexpectedly more elastic nature of the network despite low ionic cross-link density at pH 2.0, IS 0.01 M. Here, the complex is a net charged, loosely cross-linked, where the degree of relaxation is attenuated to ≈50% due to increased elastic contribution arising from fixed charge-induced Donnan osmotic pressure. In addition, this study develops a new method for quantifying the thickness of highly swollen polymer hydrogel films. It also underscores important technical considerations when performing nanomechanical tests on highly rate-dependent polymer hydrogel networks. These results provide new insights into the nanomechanical characters of ionic polyelectrolyte complexes, and lay the ground for further

The Correlated Dynamics of Micron-Scale Cantilevers in a Viscous Fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Brian A.

A number of microcantilever systems of fundamental importance are explored using theoretical and numerical methods to quantify and provide physical insights into the dynamics of experimentally accessible systems that include a variety of configurations and viscous fluids. It is first shown that the correlated dynamics of both a laterally and vertically offset cantilever pair can be accurately predicted by numerical simulations. This is verified by comparing the correlated dynamics yielded by numerical simulations with experimental measurement. It is also demonstrated that in order to obtain these accurate predictions, geometric details of the cantilever must be included in the numerical simulation to directly reflect the experimental cantilever. A microrheology technique that utilizes the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is proposed. It is shown that by including the frequency dependence of the fluid damping, improvements in accuracy of the predictions of the rheological properties of the surrounding fluid are observed over current techniques. The amplitude spectrum of a 2-D cantilever in a power-law fluid is studied. The resulting amplitude spectrum yielded a curve similar to an overdamped system. It is observed that the amplitude and noise spectrum yield the same qualitative response for a 2-D cantilever in a shear-thinning, power-law fluid. The correlated dynamics of a tethered vertically offset cantilever pair is investigated. It is shown that for a range of stiffness ratios, which is the ratio of the spring constant of the tethering relative to the cantilever spring constant, the change in the correlated dynamics of a Hookean spring tethered cantilever pair can be seen in the presence of fluid coupling. The dynamics of a spring-mass tethered, vertically offset cantilever pair is qualitatively studied by simplifying the model to an array of springs and masses. The resulting study found that the correlated dynamics of the displacement of mass of the tethered

Comparative study on nano-mechanics and thermodynamics of fish otoliths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dongni, Ren; Yonghua, Gao; Qingling, Feng

2013-01-01

Fish otolith is a kind of typical natural biomineral, which is composed of calcium carbonate and organic matrix. In fresh water carp otolith, the inorganic phase of lapillus is pure aragonite, and for asteriscus it is pure vaterite. In this research, the phase composition, phase transformation, mechanical property and solubility of lapillus and asteriscus were studied. And results showed that, the organic content of lapillus was higher than that of asteriscus; the phase-transition temperature of lapillus (aragonite–calcite) and asteriscus (vaterite–calcite) both happened between 520 and 640 °C; the nano-mechanical property of lapillus was better than that of asteriscus; the solubility of asteriscus powder was higher than that of lapillus powder. - Highlights: ► The nano-mechanical property of lapillus (aragonite) was better than that of asteriscus (vaterite). ► The phase-transition temperature of lapillus and asteriscus were both between 520 and 640 °C. ► The solubility property of asteriscus powder was better than that of lapillus powder.

A novel self-sensing technique for tapping-mode atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruppert, Michael G.; Moheimani, S. O. Reza [The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308 (Australia)

2013-12-15

This work proposes a novel self-sensing tapping-mode atomic force microscopy operation utilizing charge measurement. A microcantilever coated with a single piezoelectric layer is simultaneously used for actuation and deflection sensing. The cantilever can be batch fabricated with existing micro electro mechanical system processes. The setup enables the omission of the optical beam deflection technique which is commonly used to measure the cantilever oscillation amplitude. Due to the high amount of capacitive feedthrough in the measured charge signal, a feedforward control technique is employed to increase the dynamic range from less than 1 dB to approximately 35 dB. Experiments show that the conditioned charge signal achieves excellent signal-to-noise ratio and can therefore be used as a feedback signal for atomic force microscopy imaging.

On the electromechanical modelling of a resonating nano-cantilever-based transducer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teva, J.; Abadal, G.; Davis, Zachary James

2004-01-01

deflection and the frequency response of the oscillation amplitude for different voltage polarization conditions. For the electrostatic force calculation the model takes into account the real deflection shape of the cantilever and the contribution to the cantilever-driver capacitance of the fringing field....... Both the static and dynamic predictions have been validated experimentally by measuring the deflection of the cantilever by means of an optical microscope. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

Determination of young's modulus of PZT-influence of cantilever orientation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nazeer, H.; Woldering, L.A.; Abelmann, Leon; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

Calculation of the resonance frequency of cantilevers fabricated from an elastically anisotropic material requires the use of an effective Young’s modulus. In this paper a technique to determine the appropriate effective Young’s modulus for arbitrary cantilever geometries is introduced. This

Electronically droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers

KAUST Repository

Al Ahmad, Mahmoud Al

2012-01-01

A report is presented on free falling droplet energy harvesting using piezoelectric cantilevers. The harvester incorporates a multimorph clamped-free cantilever which is composed of five layers of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric thick films. During the impact, the droplet kinetic energy is transferred into the form of mechanical stress forcing the piezoelectric structure to vibrate. Experimental results show energy of 0.3 μJ per droplet. The scenario of moderate falling drop intensity, i.e. 230 drops per second, yields a total energy of 400 μJ. © 2012 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Nanomechanical displacement sensing using a quantum point contact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleland, A.N.; Aldridge, J.S.; Driscoll, D.C.; Gossard, A. C.

2002-01-01

We describe a radio frequency mechanical resonator that includes a quantum point contact, defined using electrostatic top gates. We can mechanically actuate the resonator using either electrostatic or magnetomotive forces. We demonstrate the use of the quantum point contact as a displacement sensor, operating as a radio frequency mixer at the mechanical resonance frequency of 1.5 MHz. We calculate a displacement sensitivity of about 3x10 -12 m/Hz 1/2 . This device will potentially permit quantum-limited displacement sensing of nanometer-scale resonators, allowing the quantum entanglement of the electronic and mechanical degrees of freedom of a nanoscale system

Ultrasensitive mass sensing with nonlinear optics in a doubly clamped suspended carbon nanotube resonator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Hua-Jun; Zhu, Ka-Di [Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 DongChuan Road, Shanghai 2 00240 (China)

2013-12-07

Nanomechanical resonator makes itself as an ideal system for ultrasensitive mass sensing due to its ultralow mass and high vibrational frequency. The mass sensing principle is due to the linear relationship of the frequency-shift and mass-variation. In this work, we will propose a nonlinear optical mass sensor based on a doubly clamped suspended carbon nanotube resonator in all-optical domain. The masses of external particles (such as nitric oxide molecules) landing onto the surface of carbon nanotube can be determined directly and accurately via using the nonlinear optical spectroscopy. This mass sensing proposed here may provide a nonlinear optical measurement technique in quantum measurements and environmental science.

Alteration of corrosion and nanomechanical properties of pulse electrodeposited Ni/SiC nanocomposite coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zarghami, V. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Street, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ghorbani, M., E-mail: Ghorbani@sharif.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Street, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Street, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-06-15

Highlights: • Preparing Ni/SiC coatings on the Cu substrate by using of rotating disk electrode. • Optimizing of pulse current density parameters. • Optimizing of SiC content in the bath. • Investigation the effect of codeposited SiC amount on the properties of coatings. - Abstract: Nickel/silicon carbide composite electrodeposits were prepared on a rotating disk electrode (RDE), under pulse current condition. The effect of pulse parameters, current density, SiC content in the electrolyte on the codeposition of SiC were studied. Afterwards, the effect of codeposited SiC amount was investigated on electrochemical behavior and nanomechanical properties of coatings. The coatings were analyzed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), linear polarization, nanoindentation and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The Ni–SiC electrocomposites, prepared at optimum conditions, exhibited improved nanomechanical properties in comparison to pure nickel electrodeposits. With increasing current density the morphology changed from flat surface to cauliflower structure. The Ni–SiC electrocomposites exhibited improved nanomechanical properties and corrosion resistances in comparison to pure nickel electrodeposits and these properties were improving with increasing codeposited SiC particles in electrocomposites.

Low-Power Photothermal Probing of Single Plasmonic Nanostructures with Nanomechanical String Resonators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmid, Silvan; Wu, Kaiyu; Larsen, Peter Emil

2014-01-01

We demonstrate the direct photothermal probing and mapping of single plasmonic nanostructures via the temperature-induced detuning of nanomechanical string resonators. Single Au nanoslits and nanorods are illuminated with a partially polarized focused laser beam (λ = 633 nm) with irradiances...... in the range of 0.26–38 μW/μm2. Photothermal heating maps with a resolution of ∼375 nm are obtained by scanning the laser over the nanostructures. Based on the string sensitivities, absorption efficiencies of 2.3 ± 0.3 and 1.1 ± 0.7 are extracted for a single nanoslit (53 nm × 1 μm) and nanorod (75 nm × 185 nm......). Our results show that nanomechanical resonators are a unique and robust analysis tool for the low-power investigation of thermoplasmonic effects in plasmonic hot spots....

Dynamic Actuation of Single-Crystal Diamond Nanobeams

OpenAIRE

Sohn, Young-Ik; Burek, Michael J.; Kara, Vural; Kearns, Ryan; Lončar, Marko

2014-01-01

We show the dielectrophoretic actuation of single-crystal diamond nanomechanical devices. Gradient radio-frequency electromagnetic forces are used to achieve actuation of both cantilever and doubly clamped beam structures, with operation frequencies ranging from a few MHz to ~50MHz. Frequency tuning and parametric actuation are also studied.

A new approach for elasto-plastic finite strain analysis of cantilever ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A new approach for elasto-plastic finite strain analysis of cantilever beams subjected to uniform bending moment ... Curvature; deflection curve; cantilever beam; elasto-plastic analysis; tapered beam subjected to tipmoment; ... Sadhana | News.

Note: A resonating reflector-based optical system for motion measurement in micro-cantilever arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sathishkumar, P.; Punyabrahma, P.; Sri Muthu Mrinalini, R.; Jayanth, G. R.

2015-01-01

A robust, compact optical measurement unit for motion measurement in micro-cantilever arrays enables development of portable micro-cantilever sensors. This paper reports on an optical beam deflection-based system to measure the deflection of micro-cantilevers in an array that employs a single laser source, a single detector, and a resonating reflector to scan the measurement laser across the array. A strategy is also proposed to extract the deflection of individual cantilevers from the acquired data. The proposed system and measurement strategy are experimentally evaluated and demonstrated to measure motion of multiple cantilevers in an array

Nanomechanical analysis of high performance materials (solid mechanics and its applications)

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

This book is intended for researchers who are interested in investigating the nanomechanical properties of materials using advanced instrumentation techniques. The chapters of the book are written in an easy-to-follow format, just like solved examples. The book comprehensively covers a broad range of materials such as polymers, ceramics, hybrids, biomaterials, metal oxides, nanoparticles, minerals, carbon nanotubes and welded joints. Each chapter describes the application of techniques on the selected material and also mentions the methodology adopted for the extraction of information from the raw data. This is a unique book in which both equipment manufacturers and equipment users have contributed chapters. Novices will learn the techniques directly from the inventors and senior researchers will gain in-depth information on the new technologies that are suitable for advanced analysis. On one hand, fundamental concepts that are needed to understand the nanomechanical behavior of materials is included in the i...

Controlling the opto-mechanics of a cantilever in an interferometer via cavity loss

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidsfeld, A. von, E-mail: avonschm@uos.de; Reichling, M., E-mail: reichling@uos.de [Fachbereich Physik, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 7, 49076 Osnabrück (Germany)

2015-09-21

In a non-contact atomic force microscope, based on interferometric cantilever displacement detection, the optical return loss of the system is tunable via the distance between the fiber end and the cantilever. We utilize this for tuning the interferometer from a predominant Michelson to a predominant Fabry-Pérot characteristics and introduce the Fabry-Pérot enhancement factor as a quantitative measure for multibeam interference in the cavity. This experimentally easily accessible and adjustable parameter provides a control of the opto-mechanical interaction between the cavity light field and the cantilever. The quantitative assessment of the light pressure acting on the cantilever oscillating in the cavity via the frequency shift allows an in-situ measurement of the cantilever stiffness with remarkable precision.

Computer aided design of Langasite resonant cantilevers: analytical models and simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Tellier, C. R.; Leblois, T. G.; Durand, S.

2010-05-01

Analytical models for the piezoelectric excitation and for the wet micromachining of resonant cantilevers are proposed. Firstly, computations of metrological performances of micro-resonators allow us to select special cuts and special alignment of the cantilevers. Secondly the self-elaborated simulator TENSOSIM based on the kinematic and tensorial model furnishes etching shapes of cantilevers. As the result the number of selected cuts is reduced. Finally the simulator COMSOL® is used to evaluate the influence of final etching shape on metrological performances and especially on the resonance frequency. Changes in frequency are evaluated and deviating behaviours of structures with less favourable built-ins are tested showing that the X cut is the best cut for LGS resonant cantilevers vibrating in flexural modes (type 1 and type 2) or in torsion mode.

Anterior Cantilever Resin-Bonded Fixed Dental Prostheses: A Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Mourshed, Bilal; Samran, Abdulaziz; Alfagih, Amal; Samran, Ahalm; Abdulrab, Saleem; Kern, Matthias

2018-03-01

This review evaluated the survival rate of single retainer anterior resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs) to determine whether the choice of material affects their clinical outcome. An electronic search of the English peer-reviewed dental literature in PubMed was conducted to identify all publications reporting on cantilever RBFDPs until May 2016. Study information extraction and methodological quality assessments were accomplished by two reviewers independently. The searched keywords were as follows: "resin-bonded, single retainer, all-ceramic resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs), all-ceramic RBFDPs, cantilever resin, RBFDPs, cantilever resin-bonded bridge, two units cantilevered, two-unit cantilevered, metal-ceramic cantilever, and metal-ceramic." Furthermore, the ''Related Articles'' feature of PubMed was used to identify further references of interest within the primary search. The bibliographies of the obtained references were used to identify pertinent secondary references. Review articles were also used to identify relevant articles. After the application of exclusion criteria, the definitive list of articles was screened to extract the qualitative data, and the results were analyzed. Overall 2588 articles were dedicated at the first review phase; however, only 311 studies were left after the elimination of duplicates and unrelated studies. Seventeen studies passed the second review phase. Five studies were excluded because they were follow-up studies of the same study cohort. Twelve studies were finally selected. The use of cantilever RBFDPs showed promising results and high survival rates. © 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

Potential of interferometric cantilever detection and its application for SFM/AFM in liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenboom, B W; Frederix, P L T M; Engel, A; Fotiadis, D; Hug, H J

2008-01-01

We have developed an optical cantilever deflection detector with a spot size -1/2 sensitivity over a>10 MHz bandwidth. In this work, we demonstrate its potential for detecting small-amplitude oscillations of various flexural and torsional oscillation modes of cantilevers. The high deflection sensitivity of the interferometer is particularly useful for detecting cantilever oscillations in aqueous solutions, enabling us to reach the thermal noise limit in scanning or atomic force microscopy experiments with stiff cantilevers. This has resulted in atomic-resolution images of solid-liquid interfaces and submolecular-resolution images of native membranes

Nanomechanical IR spectroscopy for fast analysis of liquid-dispersed engineered nanomaterials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Alina Joukainen; Yamada, Shoko; Ek, Pramod Kumar

2016-01-01

The proliferated use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), e.g. in nanomedicine, calls for novel techniques allowing for fast and sensitive analysis of minute samples. Here we present nanomechanical IR spectroscopy (NAM-IR) for chemical analysis of picograms of ENMs. ENMs are nebulized directly from...

Fabrication and evaluation of a graphene oxide-based cantilever-type flow-meter for subsonic gas flow rate measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdollahi, Hassan; Rahbar-Shahrouzi, Javad

2018-05-01

In this paper, a cantilever-type flow meter was fabricated to measure the rate of air flow in turbulent subsonic regimes such as purged gases. In the fabrication process, a piezoresistive material was coated on an interdigitated electric board as a substrate. The piezoresistive layer was a blend of latex as the polymeric matrix and graphene oxide as the sensing nanomaterial agent, which was reduced by solvothermal reduction method. The piezoresistive blend was dip-coated on a substrate with dotted pattern and was then reduced at 240 °C for 1 h in every coating step. When an air flow passed over the surface of the cantilever beam, the beam was bent in the downward direction, resulting in small variations in the resistance of the piezoresistive layer and a change in the bending angle of the cantilever which were measured simultaneously. The air flow rate was acquired via calibrating electrical resistance changes by Arduino and Wheatstone bridge circuit. The blending angle of the substrate caused by the interaction between the airflow and the cantilever and recorded by the camera and image processing was ultimately compared with the simulation results. The flow meter accuracy as a percentage of full scale (% FS) was calculated to be  ±5.8%, and mean deviation was equal to 2.1 (% FS) with the appropriate response time of 0.70 s at the air flow range of 100‑240 m s‑1. Highlights • A cantilever-type flow meter was fabricated to measure the high-speed air flow rate. • The sensitive piezoresistive material was composed of GO and latex. • The dip-coating method was used to deposit the piezoresistive layer on the fiberglass substrate. • The impact of effective parameters on the performance of the flow meter was investigated. • A simulation study was performed and the results were compared with the experimental data.

Size-dependent effective Young’s modulus of silicon nitride cantilevers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Babaei Gavan, K.; Westra, H.J.R.; Van der Drift, E.W.J.M.; Venstra, W.J.; Van der Zant, H.S.J.

2009-01-01

The effective Young’s modulus of silicon nitride cantilevers is determined for thicknesses in the range of 20–684 nm by measuring resonance frequencies from thermal noise spectra. A significant deviation from the bulk value is observed for cantilevers thinner than 150 nm. To explain the observations

The importance of cantilever dynamics in the interpretation of Kelvin probe force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Satzinger, Kevin J; Brown, Keith A; Westervelt, Robert M

2012-09-15

A realistic interpretation of the measured contact potential difference (CPD) in Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is crucial in order to extract meaningful information about the sample. Central to this interpretation is a method to include contributions from the macroscopic cantilever arm, as well as the cone and sharp tip of a KPFM probe. Here, three models of the electrostatic interaction between a KPFM probe and a sample are tested through an electrostatic simulation and compared with experiment. In contrast with previous studies that treat the KPFM cantilever as a rigid object, we allow the cantilever to bend and rotate; accounting for cantilever bending provides the closest agreement between theory and experiment. We demonstrate that cantilever dynamics play a major role in CPD measurements and provide a simulation technique to explore this phenomenon.

An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Electrostatically Coupled Cantilever Microbeams

KAUST Repository

Ilyas, Saad

2016-06-16

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of the static and dynamic behavior of electrostatically coupled laterally actuated silicon microbeams. The coupled beam resonators are composed of two almost identical flexible cantilever beams forming the two sides of a capacitor. The experimental and theoretical analysis of the coupled system is carried out and compared against the results of beams actuated with fixed electrodes individually. The pull-in characteristics of the electrostatically coupled beams are studied, including the pull-in time. The dynamics of the coupled dual beams are explored via frequency sweeps around the neighborhood of the natural frequencies of the system for different input voltages. Good agreement is reported among the simulation results and the experimental data. The results show considerable drop in the pull-in values as compared to single microbeam resonators. The dynamics of the coupled beam resonators are demonstrated as a way to increase the bandwidth of the resonator near primary resonance as well as a way to introduce increased frequency shift, which can be promising for resonant sensing applications. Moreover the dynamic pull-in characteristics are also studied and proposed as a way to sense the shift in resonance frequency.

Cancelation of thermally induced frequency shifts in bimaterial cantilevers by nonlinear optomechanical interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vy, Nguyen Duy, E-mail: nguyenduyvy@tdt.edu.vn [Theoretical Physics Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 756636 (Viet Nam); Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 756636 (Viet Nam); Tri Dat, Le [Faculty of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City 748355 (Viet Nam); Iida, Takuya [Department of Physical Science, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan)

2016-08-01

Bimaterial cantilevers have recently been used in, for example, the calorimetric analysis with picowatt resolution in microscopic space based on state-of-the-art atomic force microscopes. However, thermally induced effects usually change physical properties of the cantilevers, such as the resonance frequency, which reduce the accuracy of the measurements. Here, we propose an approach to circumvent this problem that uses an optical microcavity formed between a metallic layer coated on the back of the cantilever and one coated at the end of an optical fiber irradiating the cantilever. In addition to increasing the sensitivity, the optical rigidity of this system diminishes the thermally induced frequency shift. For a coating thickness of several tens of nanometers, the input power is 5–10 μW. These values can be evaluated from parameters derived by directly irradiating the cantilever in the absence of the microcavity. The system has the potential of using the cantilever both as a thermometer without frequency shifting and as a sensor with nanometer-controlled accuracy.

Investigations on antibody binding to a micro-cantilever coated with a BAM pesticide residue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aamand Jens

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The attachment of an antibody to an antigen-coated cantilever has been investigated by repeated experiments, using a cantilever-based detection system by Cantion A/S. The stress induced by the binding of a pesticide residue BAM (2,6 dichlorobenzamide immobilized on a cantilever surface to anti-BAM antibody is measured using the CantiLab4© system from Cantion A/S with four gold-coated cantilevers and piezo resistive readout. The detection mechanism is in principle label-free, but fluorescent-marked antibodies have been used to subsequently verify the binding on the cantilever surface. The bending and increase in mass of each cantilever has also been investigated using a light interferometer and a Doppler Vibrometer. The system has been analyzed during repeated measurements to investigate whether the CantiLab4© system is a suited platform for a pesticide assay system.

Comparative study on nano-mechanics and thermodynamics of fish otoliths

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dongni, Ren; Yonghua, Gao [State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Qingling, Feng, E-mail: biomater@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2013-01-01

Fish otolith is a kind of typical natural biomineral, which is composed of calcium carbonate and organic matrix. In fresh water carp otolith, the inorganic phase of lapillus is pure aragonite, and for asteriscus it is pure vaterite. In this research, the phase composition, phase transformation, mechanical property and solubility of lapillus and asteriscus were studied. And results showed that, the organic content of lapillus was higher than that of asteriscus; the phase-transition temperature of lapillus (aragonite-calcite) and asteriscus (vaterite-calcite) both happened between 520 and 640 Degree-Sign C; the nano-mechanical property of lapillus was better than that of asteriscus; the solubility of asteriscus powder was higher than that of lapillus powder. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The nano-mechanical property of lapillus (aragonite) was better than that of asteriscus (vaterite). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The phase-transition temperature of lapillus and asteriscus were both between 520 and 640 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The solubility property of asteriscus powder was better than that of lapillus powder.

Feedback cooling of cantilever motion using a quantum point contact transducer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montinaro, M.; Mehlin, A.; Solanki, H. S.; Peddibhotla, P.; Poggio, M.; Mack, S.; Awschalom, D. D.

2012-01-01

We use a quantum point contact (QPC) as a displacement transducer to measure and control the low-temperature thermal motion of a nearby micromechanical cantilever. The QPC is included in an active feedback loop designed to cool the cantilever's fundamental mechanical mode, achieving a squashing of the QPC noise at high gain. The minimum achieved effective mode temperature of 0.2 K and the displacement resolution of 10 -11 m/√(Hz) are limited by the performance of the QPC as a one-dimensional conductor and by the cantilever-QPC capacitive coupling.

Improved Noninterferometric Test of Collapse Models Using Ultracold Cantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Vinante, A.; Mezzena, R.; Falferi, P.; Carlesso, M.; Bassi, A.

2017-09-01

Spontaneous collapse models predict that a weak force noise acts on any mechanical system, as a consequence of the collapse of the wave function. Significant upper limits on the collapse rate have been recently inferred from precision mechanical experiments, such as ultracold cantilevers and the space mission LISA Pathfinder. Here, we report new results from an experiment based on a high-Q cantilever cooled to millikelvin temperatures, which is potentially able to improve the current bounds on the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model by 1 order of magnitude. High accuracy measurements of the cantilever thermal fluctuations reveal a nonthermal force noise of unknown origin. This excess noise is compatible with the CSL heating predicted by Adler. Several physical mechanisms able to explain the observed noise have been ruled out.

Potential of interferometric cantilever detection and its application for SFM/AFM in liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogenboom, B W [London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, 17-19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH (United Kingdom); Frederix, P L T M; Engel, A [M E Mueller Institute, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, 4056 Basel (Switzerland); Fotiadis, D [Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Berne, Buehlstrasse 28, 3012 Berne (Switzerland); Hug, H J [Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, EMPA, Ueberlandstrasse 129, 8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland)], E-mail: b.hoogenboom@ucl.ac.uk

2008-09-24

We have developed an optical cantilever deflection detector with a spot size <3 {mu}m and fm Hz{sup -1/2} sensitivity over a>10 MHz bandwidth. In this work, we demonstrate its potential for detecting small-amplitude oscillations of various flexural and torsional oscillation modes of cantilevers. The high deflection sensitivity of the interferometer is particularly useful for detecting cantilever oscillations in aqueous solutions, enabling us to reach the thermal noise limit in scanning or atomic force microscopy experiments with stiff cantilevers. This has resulted in atomic-resolution images of solid-liquid interfaces and submolecular-resolution images of native membranes.

Fabrication of thin SU-8 cantilevers: initial bending, release and time stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Stephan; Boisen, Anja; Haefliger, Daniel

2010-01-01

SU-8 cantilevers with a thickness of 2 µm were fabricated using a dry release method and two steps of SU-8 photolithography. The processing of the thin SU-8 film defining the cantilevers was experimentally optimized to achieve low initial bending due to residual stress gradients. In parallel, the rotational deformation at the clamping point allowed a qualitative assessment of the device release from the fluorocarbon-coated substrate. The change of these parameters during several months of storage at ambient temperature was investigated in detail. The introduction of a long hard bake in an oven after development of the thin SU-8 film resulted in reduced cantilever bending due to removal of residual stress gradients. Further, improved time-stability of the devices was achieved due to the enhanced cross-linking of the polymer. A post-exposure bake at a temperature T PEB = 50 °C followed by a hard bake at T HB = 90 °C proved to be optimal to ensure low cantilever bending and low rotational deformation due to excellent device release and low change of these properties with time. With the optimized process, the reproducible fabrication of arrays with 2 µm thick cantilevers with a length of 500 µm and an initial bending of less than 20 µm was possible. The theoretical spring constant of these cantilevers is k = 4.8 ± 2.5 mN m −1 , which is comparable to the value for Si cantilevers with identical dimensions and a thickness of 500 nm.

Calibration of atomic force microscope cantilevers using standard and inverted static methods assisted by FIB-milled spatial markers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slattery, Ashley D; Blanch, Adam J; Quinton, Jamie S; Gibson, Christopher T

2013-01-01

Static methods to determine the spring constant of AFM cantilevers have been widely used in the scientific community since the importance of such calibration techniques was established nearly 20 years ago. The most commonly used static techniques involve loading a trial cantilever with a known force by pressing it against a pre-calibrated standard or reference cantilever. These reference cantilever methods have a number of sources of uncertainty, which include the uncertainty in the measured spring constant of the standard cantilever, the exact position of the loading point on the reference cantilever and how closely the spring constant of the trial and reference cantilever match. We present a technique that enables users to minimize these uncertainties by creating spatial markers on reference cantilevers using a focused ion beam (FIB). We demonstrate that by combining FIB spatial markers with an inverted reference cantilever method, AFM cantilevers can be accurately calibrated without the tip of the test cantilever contacting a surface. This work also demonstrates that for V-shaped cantilevers it is possible to determine the precise loading position by AFM imaging the section of the cantilever where the two arms join. Removing tip-to-surface contact in both the reference cantilever method and sensitivity calibration is a significant improvement, since this is an important consideration for AFM users that require the imaging tip to remain in pristine condition before commencing measurements. Uncertainties of between 5 and 10% are routinely achievable with these methods. (paper)

Accurate measurement of Atomic Force Microscope cantilever deflection excluding tip-surface contact with application to force calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slattery, Ashley D.; Blanch, Adam J.; Quinton, Jamie S.; Gibson, Christopher T., E-mail: christopher.gibson@flinders.edu.au

2013-08-15

Considerable attention has been given to the calibration of AFM cantilever spring constants in the last 20 years. Techniques that do not require tip-sample contact are considered advantageous since the imaging tip is not at risk of being damaged. Far less attention has been directed toward measuring the cantilever deflection or sensitivity, despite the fact that the primary means of determining this factor relies on the AFM tip being pressed against a hard surface, such as silicon or sapphire; which has the potential to significantly damage the tip. A recent method developed by Tourek et al. in 2010 involves deflecting the AFM cantilever a known distance from the imaging tip by pressing the cantilever against a sharpened tungsten wire. In this work a similar yet more precise method is described, whereby the deflection of the cantilever is achieved using an AFM probe with a spring constant much larger than the test cantilever, essentially a rigid cantilever. The exact position of loading on the test cantilever was determined by reverse AFM imaging small spatial markers that are milled into the test cantilever using a focussed ion beam. For V shaped cantilevers it is possible to reverse image the arm intersection in order to determine the exact loading point without necessarily requiring FIB milled spatial markers, albeit at the potential cost of additional uncertainty. The technique is applied to tip-less, beam shaped and V shaped cantilevers and compared to the hard surface contact technique with very good agreement (on average less than 5% difference). While the agreement with the hard surface contact technique was very good the error on the technique is dependent upon the assumptions inherent in the method, such as cantilever shape, loading point distance and ratio of test to rigid cantilever spring constants. The average error ranged between 2 to 5% for the majority of test cantilevers studied. The sensitivity derived with this technique can then be used to

Research on fiber-optic cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy for trace gas detection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ke; Zhou, Xinlei; Gong, Zhenfeng; Yu, Shaochen; Qu, Chao; Guo, Min; Yu, Qingxu

2018-01-01

We demonstrate a new scheme of cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, combining a sensitivity-improved fiber-optic cantilever acoustic sensor with a tunable high-power fiber laser, for trace gas detection. The Fabry-Perot interferometer based cantilever acoustic sensor has advantages such as high sensitivity, small size, easy to install and immune to electromagnetic. Tunable erbium-doped fiber ring laser with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier is used as the light source for acoustic excitation. In order to improve the sensitivity for photoacoustic signal detection, a first-order longitudinal resonant photoacoustic cell with the resonant frequency of 1624 Hz and a large size cantilever with the first resonant frequency of 1687 Hz are designed. The size of the cantilever is 2.1 mm×1 mm, and the thickness is 10 μm. With the wavelength modulation spectrum and second-harmonic detection methods, trace ammonia (NH3) has been measured. The gas detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 1) near the wavelength of 1522.5 nm is achieved to be 3 ppb.

A piezoresistive cantilever for lateral force detection fabricated by a monolithic post-CMOS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji Xu; Li Zhihong; Li Juan; Wang Yangyuan; Xi Jianzhong

2008-01-01

This paper presents a post-CMOS process to monolithically integrate a piezoresistive cantilever for lateral force detection and signal processing circuitry. The fabrication process includes a standard CMOS process and one more lithography step to micromachine the cantilever structure in the post-CMOS process. The piezoresistors are doped in the CMOS process but defined in the post-CMOS micromachining process without any extra process required. A partially split cantilever configuration is developed for the lateral force detection. The piezoresistors are self-aligned to the split cantilever, and therefore the width of the beam is only limited by lithography. Consequently, this kind of cantilever potentially has a high resolution. The preliminary experimental results show expected performances of the fabricated piezoresistors and electronic circuits

Modified cantilevers to probe unambiguously out-of-plane piezoresponse

Science.gov (United States)

Alyabyeva, Natalia; Ouvrard, Aimeric; Lindfors-Vrejoiu, Ionela; Kolomiytsev, Alexey; Solodovnik, Maxim; Ageev, Oleg; McGrouther, Damien

2018-06-01

We demonstrate and investigate the coupling of contributions from both in-plane (IP) polarization and out-of-plane (OP) components in BiFeO3 (BFO) thin-film polarization probed by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Such coupling leads to image artifacts which prevent the correct determination of OP polarization vector directions and the corresponding piezoelectric coefficient d33. Using material strength theory with a one-dimensional modeling of the cantilever oscillation amplitude under electrostatic and elastic forces as a function of the tip length, we have evidenced the impact of IP piezoresponse to the OP signal for tip length longer than 4 μm. The IP polarization vector induces a significant longitudinal bending of the cantilever, due to the small spring constant of long tips, which provokes a normal deviation superimposed to the OP piezoresponse. These artifacts can be reduced by increasing the longitudinal spring constant of the cantilever by shortening the tip length. Standard cantilevers with 15-μm-long tips were modified to reach the desired tip length, using focused ion-beam techniques and tested using PFM on the same BFO thin film. Tip length shortening has strongly reduced IP artifacts as expected, while the impact of nonlocal electrostatic forces, becoming predominant for tips shorter than 1 μm, has led to a non-negligible deflection offset. For shorter tips, a strong electric field from a cantilever beam can induce polarization switching as observed for a 0.5-μm-long tip. Tip length ranging from 1 to 4 μm allowed minimizing both artifacts to probe unambiguously OP piezoresponse and quantify the d33 piezoelectric coefficient.

Piezoresistive Cantilever Performance-Part I: Analytical Model for Sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung-Jin; Doll, Joseph C; Pruitt, Beth L

2010-02-01

An accurate analytical model for the change in resistance of a piezoresistor is necessary for the design of silicon piezoresistive transducers. Ion implantation requires a high-temperature oxidation or annealing process to activate the dopant atoms, and this treatment results in a distorted dopant profile due to diffusion. Existing analytical models do not account for the concentration dependence of piezoresistance and are not accurate for nonuniform dopant profiles. We extend previous analytical work by introducing two nondimensional factors, namely, the efficiency and geometry factors. A practical benefit of this efficiency factor is that it separates the process parameters from the design parameters; thus, designers may address requirements for cantilever geometry and fabrication process independently. To facilitate the design process, we provide a lookup table for the efficiency factor over an extensive range of process conditions. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with the experimentally determined sensitivities of piezoresistive cantilevers. We performed 9200 TSUPREM4 simulations and fabricated 50 devices from six unique process flows; we systematically explored the design space relating process parameters and cantilever sensitivity. Our treatment focuses on piezoresistive cantilevers, but the analytical sensitivity model is extensible to other piezoresistive transducers such as membrane pressure sensors.

Piezoresistive Cantilever Performance—Part I: Analytical Model for Sensitivity

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung-Jin; Doll, Joseph C.; Pruitt, Beth L.

2010-01-01

An accurate analytical model for the change in resistance of a piezoresistor is necessary for the design of silicon piezoresistive transducers. Ion implantation requires a high-temperature oxidation or annealing process to activate the dopant atoms, and this treatment results in a distorted dopant profile due to diffusion. Existing analytical models do not account for the concentration dependence of piezoresistance and are not accurate for nonuniform dopant profiles. We extend previous analytical work by introducing two nondimensional factors, namely, the efficiency and geometry factors. A practical benefit of this efficiency factor is that it separates the process parameters from the design parameters; thus, designers may address requirements for cantilever geometry and fabrication process independently. To facilitate the design process, we provide a lookup table for the efficiency factor over an extensive range of process conditions. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with the experimentally determined sensitivities of piezoresistive cantilevers. We performed 9200 TSUPREM4 simulations and fabricated 50 devices from six unique process flows; we systematically explored the design space relating process parameters and cantilever sensitivity. Our treatment focuses on piezoresistive cantilevers, but the analytical sensitivity model is extensible to other piezoresistive transducers such as membrane pressure sensors. PMID:20336183

Highly sensitive polymer-based cantilever-sensors for DNA detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleja, M.; Nordstroem, M.; Alvarez, M.; Tamayo, J.; Lechuga, L.M.; Boisen, A.

2005-01-01

We present a technology for the fabrication of cantilever arrays aimed to develop an integrated biosensor microsystem. The fabrication process is based on spin coating of the photosensitive polymer and near-ultraviolet exposure. Arrays of up to 33 microcantilevers are fabricated in the novel polymer material SU-8. The low Young's modulus of the polymer, 40 times lower than that of silicon, enables to improve the sensitivity of the sensor device for target detection. The mechanical properties of SU-8 cantilevers, such as spring constant, resonant frequency and quality factor are characterized as a function of the dimensions and the medium. The devices have been tested for measurement of the adsorption of single stranded DNA and subsequent interstitial adsorption of lateral spacer molecules. We demonstrate that sensitivity is enhanced by a factor of six compared to that of commercial silicon nitride cantilevers

Biophysics of Human Hair Structural, Nanomechanical, and Nanotribological Studies

CERN Document Server

Bhushan, Bharat

2010-01-01

This book presents the biophysics of hair. It deals with the structure of hair, its mechanical properties, the nanomechanical characterization, tensile deformation, tribological characterization, the thickness distribution and binding interactions on hair surface. Another important topic of the book is the health of hair, human hair and skin, hair care, cleaning and conditioning treatments and damaging processes. It is the first book on the biophysical properties of hair.

A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Sadhana; Volume 34; Issue 4. A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers ... Different types of cantilever beams incorporating PLZT films have been successfully fabricated using 'lift-off' process and bulk micromachining technology. The proposed process can be advantageously ...

A novel fabrication technique for free-hanging homogeneous polymeric cantilever waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordström, M.; Calleja, M.; Hübner, Jörg

2008-01-01

We present a novel bonding technique developed for the fabrication of a cantilever-based biosensing system with integrated optical read-out. The read-out mechanism is based on single-mode waveguides fabricated monolithically in SU-8. For optimal operation of the read-out mode, the cantilever...

Finite-Element Simulation of Cantilever Vibrations in Atomic Force Acoustic Microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beltran, F J Espinoza [Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados del IPN. Unidad Queretaro, Apdo. Postal 1-798, 76001 Queretaro, Qro. (Mexico); Scholz, T [Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Advanced Ceramics, Denickestrasse 15, D-21073 Hamburg (Germany); Schneider, G A [Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Advanced Ceramics, Denickestrasse 15, D-21073 Hamburg (Germany); Munoz-Saldana, J [Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados del IPN. Unidad Queretaro, Apdo. Postal 1-798, 76001 Queretaro, Qro. (Mexico); Rabe, U [Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP), Bldg. E3.1, University, D-66123 Saarbruecken (Germany); Arnold, W [Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP), Bldg. E3.1, University, D-66123 Saarbruecken (Germany)

2007-03-15

Atomic Force Acoustic Microscopy has been proven to be a powerful technique for materials characterization with nanoscale lateral resolution. This technique allows one to obtain images of elastic properties of materials. By means of spectroscopic measurements of the tip-sample contact-resonance frequencies, it is possible to obtain quantitative values of the mechanical stiffness of the sample surface. For quantitative analysis a reliable relation between the spectroscopic data and the contact stiffness is required based on a correct geometrical model of the cantilever vibrations. This model must be precise enough for predicting the resonance frequencies of the tip-sample interaction when excited over a wide range of frequencies. Analytical models have served as a good reference for understanding the vibrational behavior of the AFM cantilever. They have certain limits, however, for reproducing the tip-sample contact-resonances due to the cantilever geometries used. For obtaining the local elastic modulus of samples, it is necessary to know the tip-sample contact area which is usually obtained by a calibration procedure with a reference sample. In this work we show that finiteelement modeling may be used to replace the analytical inversion procedure for AFAM data. First, the three first bending modes of cantilever resonances were used for finding the geometrical dimension of the cantilever employed. Then the normal and in-plane stiffness of the sample were obtained for each measurement on the surface to be measured. A calibration was needed to obtain the tip position of the cantilever by making measurements on a sample with known surface elasticity, here crystalline silicon. The method developed in this work was applied to AFAM measurements on silicon, zerodur, and strontium titanate.

Highly sensitive polymer-based cantilever-sensors for DNA detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calleja, M. [Biosensors Group, Nacional Center of Microelectronics (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid (Spain) and Mikroelektronics Centret, Technical University of Denmark, 345E, DK-2800, Lyngby (Denmark)]. E-mail: mcalleja@imm.cnm.csic.es; Nordstroem, M. [Mikroelektronics Centret, Technical University of Denmark, 345E, DK-2800, Lyngby (Denmark); Alvarez, M. [Biosensors Group, Nacional Center of Microelectronics (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid (Spain); Tamayo, J. [Biosensors Group, Nacional Center of Microelectronics (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid (Spain); Lechuga, L.M. [Biosensors Group, Nacional Center of Microelectronics (CNM-CSIC), Isaac Newton 8, Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid (Spain); Boisen, A. [Mikroelektronics Centret, Technical University of Denmark, 345E, DK-2800, Lyngby (Denmark)

2005-11-15

We present a technology for the fabrication of cantilever arrays aimed to develop an integrated biosensor microsystem. The fabrication process is based on spin coating of the photosensitive polymer and near-ultraviolet exposure. Arrays of up to 33 microcantilevers are fabricated in the novel polymer material SU-8. The low Young's modulus of the polymer, 40 times lower than that of silicon, enables to improve the sensitivity of the sensor device for target detection. The mechanical properties of SU-8 cantilevers, such as spring constant, resonant frequency and quality factor are characterized as a function of the dimensions and the medium. The devices have been tested for measurement of the adsorption of single stranded DNA and subsequent interstitial adsorption of lateral spacer molecules. We demonstrate that sensitivity is enhanced by a factor of six compared to that of commercial silicon nitride cantilevers.

Multifrequency Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Based on Polygon-Shaped Cantilever Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalius Mažeika

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on numerical and experimental investigations of a novel design piezoelectric energy harvester. Investigated harvester is based on polygon-shaped cantilever array and employs multifrequency operating principle. It consists of eight cantilevers with irregular design of cross-sectional area. Cantilevers are connected to each other by specific angle to form polygon-shaped structure. Moreover, seven seismic masses with additional lever arms are added in order to create additional rotation moment. Numerical investigation showed that piezoelectric polygon-shaped energy harvester has five natural frequencies in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 240 Hz, where the first and the second bending modes of the cantilevers are dominating. Maximum output voltage density and energy density equal to 50.03 mV/mm3 and 604 μJ/mm3, respectively, were obtained during numerical simulation. Prototype of piezoelectric harvester was made and experimental investigation was performed. Experimental measurements of the electrical characteristics showed that maximum output voltage density, energy density, and output power are 37.5 mV/mm3, 815.16 μJ/mm3, and 65.24 μW, respectively.

A novel fabrication technique for free-hanging homogeneous polymeric cantilever waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordström, Maria; Hübner, Jörg; Boisen, Anja; Calleja, Montserrat

2008-01-01

We present a novel bonding technique developed for the fabrication of a cantilever-based biosensing system with integrated optical read-out. The read-out mechanism is based on single-mode waveguides fabricated monolithically in SU-8. For optimal operation of the read-out mode, the cantilever waveguides should be homogenous and this bonding technique ensures free-hanging cantilevers that are surrounded by the same material for bottom and top claddings. The bonding step is necessary because SU-8 is a negative resist where free-hanging structures cannot be fabricated directly. This paper gives details on the processing aspects and the parameters of the fabrication steps

Performance Analysis of Wind-Induced Piezoelectric Vibration Bimorph Cantilever for Rotating Machinery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gongbo Zhou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Harvesting the energy contained in the running environment of rotating machinery would be a good way to supplement energy to the wireless sensor. In this paper, we take piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam with parallel connection mode as energy collector and analyze the factors which can influence the generation performance. First, a modal response theory model is built. Second, the static analysis, modal analysis, and piezoelectric harmonic response analysis of the wind-induced piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam are given in detail. Finally, an experiment is also conducted. The results show that wind-induced piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam has low resonant frequency and stable output under the first modal mode and can achieve the maximum output voltage under the resonant condition. The output voltage increases with the increase of the length and width of wind-induced piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam, but the latter increasing amplitude is relatively smaller. In addition, the output voltage decreases with the increase of the thickness and the ratio of metal substrate to piezoelectric patches thickness. The experiment showed that the voltage amplitude generated by the piezoelectric bimorph cantilever beam can reach the value simulated in ANSYS, which is suitable for actual working conditions.

Mass detection by means of the vibrating nanomechanical resonators

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stachiv, Ivo; Fedorchenko, Alexander I.; Chen, Y.-L.

2012-01-01

Roč. 100, č. 9 (2012), s. 1-3 ISSN 0003-6951 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GCP101/11/J019 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514; CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : mass detection * nanomechanical based resonators * mass sensitivity Subject RIV: BI - Acoustics Impact factor: 3.794, year: 2012 http://apl.aip.org/ resource /1/applab/v100/i9/p093110_s1?isAuthorized=no

Tuning piezoresistive transduction in nanomechanical resonators by geometrical asymmetries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Llobet, J.; Sansa, M.; Lorenzoni, M.; Pérez-Murano, F., E-mail: francesc.perez@csic.es [Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain); Borrisé, X. [Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra Spain (Spain); San Paulo, A. [Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (IMM-CSIC), 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid (Spain)

2015-08-17

The effect of geometrical asymmetries on the piezoresistive transduction in suspended double clamped beam nanomechanical resonators is investigated. Tapered silicon nano-beams, fabricated using a fast and flexible prototyping method, are employed to determine how the asymmetry affects the transduced piezoresistive signal for different mechanical resonant modes. This effect is attributed to the modulation of the strain in pre-strained double clamped beams, and it is confirmed by means of finite element simulations.

Phase lag deduced information in photo-thermal actuation for nano-mechanical systems characterization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijster, R.J.F.; Vreugd, J. de; Sadeghian Marnani, H.

2014-01-01

In photo-thermal actuation, heat is added locally to a micro-cantilever by means of a laser. A fraction of the irradiation is absorbed, yielding thermal stresses and deformations in the structure. Harmonic modulation of the laser power causes the cantilever to oscillate. Moreover, a phase lag is

Cantilever contribution to the total electrostatic force measured with the atomic force microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guriyanova, Svetlana; Golovko, Dmytro S; Bonaccurso, Elmar

2010-01-01

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful tool for surface imaging at the nanometer scale and surface force measurements in the piconewton range. Among long-range surface forces, the electrostatic forces play a predominant role. They originate if the electric potentials of the substrate and of the tip of the AFM cantilever are different. A quantitative interpretation of the AFM signal is often difficult because it depends in a complicated fashion on the cantilever–tip–surface geometry. Since the electrostatic interaction is a long-range interaction, the cantilever, which is many microns from the surface, contributes to the total electrostatic force along with the tip. Here we present results of the electrostatic interaction between a conducting flat surface and horizontal or tilted cantilevers, with and without tips, at various distances from the surface. As addressed in a previous work, we show that the contribution of the cantilever to the overall force cannot be neglected. Based on a predictive model and on 3D confocal measurements, we discuss the influence of the tilting angle of the cantilever

Finite Element Study on Performance of Piezoelectric Bimorph Cantilevers Using Porous/Ceramic 0-3 Polymer Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Kiran, Raj; Kumar, Anuruddh; Chauhan, Vishal S.; Kumar, Rajeev; Vaish, Rahul

2018-01-01

Finite element analysis of 0-3 composites made of piezoceramic particles and pores embedded in polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) has been carried out. The representative volume element (RVE) approach was used to calculate the effective elastic and piezoelectric properties of the periodic isotropic 0-3 piezoelectric composites. It was observed that the elastic and piezoelectric properties increased with the volume fraction of {K}_{0.475} {Na}_{0.475} {Li}_{0.05} ( {{Nb}_{0.92} {Ta}_{0.05} {Sb}_{0.03} } ){O}3 (KNLNTS) particles but decreased for the porous composites. These effective properties were further used to analyze the potential use of such bimorph cantilever beams in sensing and energy harvesting applications. Sensing voltage continuously increased for KNLNTS filled composites while for porous materials it increased up to 15% volume fraction porosity and then decreased. The same trend was also observed for the power produced by the harvester. However, the sensing voltage and power produced by harvesters made of porous composites were lower than for harvesters made of pure PVDF.

Vibrational fatigue failures in short cantilevered piping with socket-welding fittings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.K.

1996-01-01

Approximately 80% of the vibrational fatigue failures in nuclear power plants have been caused by high cycle vibrational fatigue. Many of these failures have occurred in short, small bore (2 in. nominal diameter and smaller), unbraced, cantilevered piping with socket-welding fittings. The fatigue failures initiated in the socket welds. These failures have been unexpected, and have caused costly, unscheduled outages in some cases. In order to reduce the number of vibrational fatigue failures in these short cantilevered pipes, an acceleration based vibrational fatigue screening criteria was developed under Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsorship. In this paper, the acceleration based criteria will be compared to the results obtained from detailed dynamic modeling of a short, cantilevered pipe

Atomic Force Microscopy Investigation of Morphological and Nanomechanical Properties of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Ninell Pollas

2008-01-01

changes in the fraction of individual bacteria and bacteria undergoing proliferation, and decrease of cell length of mother and daughter cells. The results indicated that colistin arrested the bacterial growth just after septum formation. Furthermore did the morphology change from a smooth bacterial......Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is unique in the aspect of studying living biological sample under physiological conditions. AFM was invented in 1986 by Binnig and Gerber and began in the early 1990’s to be implemented in life science. AFM can give a detailed three dimensional image of an intact cell......, but also be used to examine the nanomechanical properties on single cell level. These qualities make AFM a powerful tool in biology and can be used to examine both morphological and nanomechanical response to various liquids environments, such as osmotic pressure, but also the effects of e.g. antibiotic...

A new detection system for extremely small vertically mounted cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antognozzi, M; Ulcinas, A; Picco, L; Simpson, S H; Miles, M J; Heard, P J; Szczelkun, M D; Brenner, B

2008-01-01

Detection techniques currently used in scanning force microscopy impose limitations on the geometrical dimensions of the probes and, as a consequence, on their force sensitivity and temporal response. A new technique, based on scattered evanescent electromagnetic waves (SEW), is presented here that can detect the displacement of the extreme end of a vertically mounted cantilever. The resolution of this method is tested using different cantilever sizes and a theoretical model is developed to maximize the detection sensitivity. The applications presented here clearly show that the SEW detection system enables the use of force sensors with sub-micron size, opening new possibilities in the investigation of biomolecular systems and high speed imaging. Two types of cantilevers were successfully tested: a high force sensitivity lever with a spring constant of 0.17 pN nm -1 and a resonant frequency of 32 kHz; and a high speed lever with a spring constant of 50 pN nm -1 and a resonant frequency of 1.8 MHz. Both these force sensors were fabricated by modifying commercial microcantilevers in a focused ion beam system. It is important to emphasize that these modified cantilevers could not be detected by the conventional optical detection system used in commercial atomic force microscopes

Multi-frequency response from a designed array of micromechanical cantilevers fabricated using a focused ion beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghatnekar-Nilsson, S; Graham, J; Hull, R; Montelius, L

2006-01-01

We demonstrate arrays of cantilevers with different lengths, fabricated by focused ion beam milling. The arrays of oscillators generate a spectrum of different resonant frequencies, where each frequency correlates to the corresponding individual cantilever. The frequency response from all the cantilevers is collected from a single measurement under the same environment and conditions for the entire array. The mass response of the system generated the same Δf/f 0 for the cantilevers, within 0.1% accuracy. We denote the method MFSAC: multi-frequency signal analysis from an array of cantilevers. The simultaneous detection of several frequencies in one spectrum has great benefits in mass sensor applications, offering the possibility for true label-free detection

Nonlinearity and nonclassicality in a nanomechanical resonator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teklu, Berihu [Clermont Universite, Blaise Pascal University, CNRS, PHOTON-N2, Institut Pascal, Aubiere Cedex (France); Universita degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Fisica, Milano (Italy); Ferraro, Alessandro; Paternostro, Mauro [Queen' s University, Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Belfast (United Kingdom); Paris, Matteo G.A. [Universita degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Fisica, Milano (Italy)

2015-12-15

We address quantitatively the relationship between the nonlinearity of a mechanical resonator and the nonclassicality of its ground state. In particular, we analyze the nonclassical properties of the nonlinear Duffing oscillator (being driven or not) as a paradigmatic example of a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator. We first discuss how to quantify the nonlinearity of this system and then show that the nonclassicality of the ground state, as measured by the volume occupied by the negative part of the Wigner function, monotonically increases with the nonlinearity in all the working regimes addressed in our study. Our results show quantitatively that nonlinearity is a resource to create nonclassical states in mechanical systems. (orig.)

Highly Sensitive Polymer-based Cantilever-sensors for DNA Detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gomez, Montserrat; Nordström, Maria; Alvarez, M.

2005-01-01

We present a technology for the fabrication of cantilever arrays aimed to develop an integrated biosensor microsystem. The fabrication process is based on spin coating of the photosensitive polymer and near-ultraviolet exposure. Arrays of up to 33 microcantilevers are fabricated in the novel...... polymer material SU-8. The low Young's modulus of the polymer, 40 times lower than that of silicon, enables to improve the sensitivity of the sensor device for target detection. The mechanical properties of SU-8 cantilevers, such as spring constant, resonant frequency and quality factor are characterized...

Monitoring the hydration of DNA self-assembled monolayers using an extensional nanomechanical resonator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cagliani, Alberto; Kosaka, Priscila; Tamayo, Javier

2012-01-01

We have fabricated an ultrasensitive nanomechanical resonator based on the extensional vibration mode to weigh the adsorbed water on self-assembled monolayers of DNA as a function of the relative humidity. The water adsorption isotherms provide the number of adsorbed water molecules per nucleotid...

Squeeze-film damping characteristics of cantilever microresonators ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

perturbation approach does not apply to cantilever plates because of ...... Direct coupling of electrostatic and structural domain has been achieved using ... forces are computed to obtain the modal squeeze stiffness and damping parameters.

〈c + a〉 Dislocations in deformed Ti–6Al–4V micro-cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Rengen; Gong, Jicheng; Wilkinson, Angus J.; Jones, Ian P.

2014-01-01

Single α–β colony micro-cantilevers with an equilateral triangular cross-section and an apex at the bottom were machined from a polycrystalline commercial Ti–6Al–4V sample using a focused ion beam (FIB). Each cantilever contained several α lamellae separated by thin fillets of β. A nano-indenter was used to perform micro-bending tests (Ding et al., 2012) [1]. 〈c + a〉 Slip systems were selectively activated in the cantilevers by controlling the crystal direction along the micro-cantilever to be [0 0 0 1]. Specimens for transmission electron microscopy were prepared from the deformed micro-cantilevers using a dual-beam FIB. Bright field scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the processes of slip nucleation, propagation and transmission through the α/β interface. Dislocations initiate first near the bottom of the cantilever and subsequently from the top. Both sets of dislocations move inward toward the neutral axis. Planar pyramidal {101 ¯ 1} slip was observed at the top (tension) but cross-slip was observed at the bottom (compression). All the 〈c + a〉 slip systems are equally stressed, but only a limited number is activated. This is tentatively interpreted in terms of dislocation transmission through the β fillets

Integrated MOSFET-Embedded-Cantilever-Based Biosensor Characteristic for Detection of Anthrax Simulant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mostafa, Salwa [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Lee, Ida [ORNL; Islam, Syed K [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Eliza, Sazia A. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK); Shekhawat, Gajendra [Northwestern University, Evanston; Dravid, Vinayak [Northwestern University, Evanston; Tulip, Fahmida S [ORNL

2011-01-01

In this work, MOSFET-embedded cantilevers are configured as microbial sensors for detection of anthrax simulants, Bacillus thuringiensis. Anthrax simulants attached to the chemically treated gold-coated cantilever cause changes in the MOSFET drain current due to the bending of the cantilever which indicates the detection of anthrax simulant. Electrical properties of the anthrax simulant are also responsible for the change in the drain current. The test results suggest a detection range of 10 L of stimulant test solution (a suspension population of 1.3 107 colony-forming units/mL diluted in 40% ethanol and 60% deionized water) with a linear response of 31 A/ L.

Optical device comprising a cantilever and method of fabrication and use thereof

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iannuzzi, Davide; Deladi, S.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

2008-01-01

The present invention provides an optical device, comprising an optical fiber and a cantilever that is arranged on an end of the optical fiber; The cantilever may be an integral part of the optical fiber, and may have a length that is substantially equal to a diameter of the optical fiber.

Optical device comprising a cantilever and method of fabrication and use thereof

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iannuzzi, Davide; Deladi, S.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

2011-01-01

The present invention provides an optical device, comprising an optical fiber and a cantilever that is arranged on an end of the optical fiber; The cantilever may be an integral part of the optical fiber, and may have a length that is substantially equal to a diameter of the optical fiber.

Scanning probe microscopy with vertically oriented cantilevers made easy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valdrè, G; Moro, D; Ulian, G

2012-01-01

Non-contact imaging in scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is becoming of great importance in particular for imaging biological matter and in general soft materials. Transverse dynamic force microscopy (TDFM) is an SPM-based methodology that exploiting a cantilever oriented in a vertical configuration with respect to the sample surface may work with very low tip to sample interaction forces. The probe is oscillated parallel to the sample surface, usually by a piezoelectric element. However, this methodology often requires complex microscope setups and detection systems, so it is usually developed in specific laboratories as a prototype microscope. Here, we present a very simple device that easily enables a commercial SPM head to be oriented in such a way to have the cantilever long axis perpendicular to the sample surface. No modifications of the SPM hardware and software are required and commercial available cantilevers can be used as probes. Performance tests using polystyrene spheres, muscovite crystallographic steps and DNA single molecules were successful and all resulted in agreement with other TDFM and SPM observations demonstrating the reliability of the device. (paper)

Micromachined silicon cantilevers with integrated high-frequency magnetoimpedance sensors for simultaneous strain and magnetic field detection

Science.gov (United States)

Buettel, G.; Joppich, J.; Hartmann, U.

2017-12-01

Giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) measurements in the high-frequency regime utilizing a coplanar waveguide with an integrated Permalloy multilayer and micromachined on a silicon cantilever are reported. The fabrication process is described in detail. The aspect ratio of the magnetic multilayer in the magnetoresistive and magnetostrictive device was varied. Tensile strain and compressive strain were applied. Vector network analyzer measurements in the range from the skin effect to ferromagnetic resonance confirm the technological potential of GMI-based micro-electro-mechanical devices for strain and magnetic field sensing applications. The strain-impedance gauge factor was quantified by finite element strain calculations and reaches a maximum value of almost 200.

The nano-mechanical signature of Ultra High Performance Concrete by statistical nanoindentation techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorelli, Luca; Constantinides, Georgios; Ulm, Franz-Josef; Toutlemonde, Francois

2008-01-01

Advances in engineering the microstructure of cementitious composites have led to the development of fiber reinforced Ultra High Performance Concretes (UHPC). The scope of this paper is twofold, first to characterize the nano-mechanical properties of the phases governing the UHPC microstructure by means of a novel statistical nanoindentation technique; then to upscale those nanoscale properties, by means of continuum micromechanics, to the macroscopic scale of engineering applications. In particular, a combined investigation of nanoindentation, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) indicates that the fiber-matrix transition zone is relatively defect free. On this basis, a four-level multiscale model with defect free interfaces allows to accurately determine the composite stiffness from the measured nano-mechanical properties. Besides evidencing the dominant role of high density calcium silicate hydrates and the stiffening effect of residual clinker, the suggested model may become a useful tool for further optimizing cement-based engineered composites

GaAs/AlAs/InGaP heterostructure: a versatile material basis for cantilever designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregušová, Dagmar; Kúdela, Róbert; Eliáš, Peter; Šoltýs, Ján; Cambel, Vladimír; Kostič, Ivan

2010-01-01

We report on the design, fabrication and initial mechanical testing of cantilevers with tips based on a GaAs/In 0.485 Ga 0.515 P/AlAs heterostructure grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. They were produced using a dedicated technological process based on (1) the formation of integrated tips through an AlAs-assisted surface sacrificial wet-etching process and (2) the GaAs cantilever release fully protected between two InGaP etch-stop layers. 2 µm thick InGaP/GaAs/InGaP cantilevers had integrated pyramidal tips with the sides at ∼45° to (1 0 0). Metallic elements were processed close to the tip apexes using non-standard optical lithography. The cantilever release was accomplished using photolithography, Ar ion milling of InGaP and wet chemical etching of GaAs via resist layers deposited by a draping technique. A tip–cantilever prototype with length, width and thickness of 150, 35 and 2 µm, respectively, exhibited a resonance frequency of 66.2 kHz, which correlated well with a theoretical value of 57 kHz for a GaAs cantilever of identical dimensions. (technical note)

Nanotribological and nanomechanical characterization of human hair using a nanoscratch technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wei Guohua [Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS, Ohio State University, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202 (United States); Bhushan, Bharat [Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS, Ohio State University, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202 (United States)]. E-mail: bhushan.2@osu.edu

2006-06-15

Human hair ({approx}50-100 {mu}m in diameter) is a nanocomposite biological fiber with well-characterized microstructures, and is of great interest for both cosmetic science and materials science. Characterization of nanotribological and nanomechanical properties of human hair including the coefficient of friction and scratch resistance is essential to develop better shampoo and conditioner products and advance biological and cosmetic science. In this paper, the coefficient of friction and scratch resistance of Caucasian and Asian hair at virgin, chemo-mechanically damaged, and conditioner-treated conditions are measured using a nanoscratch technique with a Nano Indenter II system. The scratch tests were performed on both the single cuticle cell and multiple cuticle cells of each hair sample, and the scratch wear tracks were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after the scratch tests. The effect of soaking on the coefficient of friction, scratch resistance, hardness and Young's modulus of hair surface were also studied by performing experiments on hair samples which had been soaked in de-ionized water for 5 min. The nanotribological and nanomechanical properties of human hair as a function of hair structure (hair of different ethnicity), damage, treatment and soaking are discussed.

Nanotribological and nanomechanical characterization of human hair using a nanoscratch technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Guohua; Bhushan, Bharat

2006-01-01

Human hair (∼50-100 μm in diameter) is a nanocomposite biological fiber with well-characterized microstructures, and is of great interest for both cosmetic science and materials science. Characterization of nanotribological and nanomechanical properties of human hair including the coefficient of friction and scratch resistance is essential to develop better shampoo and conditioner products and advance biological and cosmetic science. In this paper, the coefficient of friction and scratch resistance of Caucasian and Asian hair at virgin, chemo-mechanically damaged, and conditioner-treated conditions are measured using a nanoscratch technique with a Nano Indenter II system. The scratch tests were performed on both the single cuticle cell and multiple cuticle cells of each hair sample, and the scratch wear tracks were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after the scratch tests. The effect of soaking on the coefficient of friction, scratch resistance, hardness and Young's modulus of hair surface were also studied by performing experiments on hair samples which had been soaked in de-ionized water for 5 min. The nanotribological and nanomechanical properties of human hair as a function of hair structure (hair of different ethnicity), damage, treatment and soaking are discussed

In situ TEM visualization of superior nanomechanical flexibility of shear-exfoliated phosphorene.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Feng; Ma, Hongyu; Lei, Shuangying; Sun, Jun; Chen, Jing; Ge, Binghui; Zhu, Yimei; Sun, Litao

2016-07-14

Recently discovered atomically thin black phosphorus (called phosphorene) holds great promise for applications in flexible nanoelectronic devices. Experimentally identifying and characterizing nanomechanical properties of phosphorene are challenging, but also potentially rewarding. This work combines for the first time in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and an in situ micro-manipulation system to directly visualize the nanomechanical behaviour of individual phosphorene nanoflakes. We demonstrate that the phosphorene nanoflakes can be easily bent, scrolled, and stretched, showing remarkable mechanical flexibility rather than fracturing. An out-of-plane plate-like bending mechanism and in-plane tensile strain of up to 34% were observed. Moreover, a facile liquid-phase shear exfoliation route has been developed to produce such mono-layer and few-layer phosphorene nanoflakes in organic solvents using only a household kitchen blender. The effects of surface tensions of the applied solvents on the ratio of average length and thickness (L/T) of the nanoflakes were studied systematically. The results reported here will pave the way for potential industrial-scale applications of flexible phosphorene nanoelectronic devices.

An AlN cantilever for a wake-up switch triggered by air pressure change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiho, Y; Itoh, T; Maeda, R; Takahashi, H; Matsumoto, K; Shimoyama, I; Tomimatsu, Y; Kobayashi, T

2013-01-01

This research reports an AlN cantilever with an air chamber for a wake-up switch triggered by air pressure change. The proposed sensor is designed to fulfil both high sensitivity and low power consumption. By combining an air chamber to the one side of the AlN cantilever surface, the barometric pressure change generates a piezoelectric voltage. Thus, a wake-up switch triggered by air pressure change can be achieved using an AlN cantilever. The size of the fabricated AlN cantilever was 2000 μm × 1000 μm × 2 μm. The sensitivity to static differential pressure was 11.5 mV/Pa at the range of −20 Pa to 20 Pa. We evaluated the response of the sensor, which was composed of the AlN cantilever and the chamber of 60 ml in volume, when air pressure change was applied. The output voltage increased with increasing the applied air pressure change. It was observed that the maximum output voltage of 50 mV was generated when the air pressure change was 13 Pa

Cantilever-based bio-chemical sensor integrated in a microliquid handling system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thaysen, Jacob; Marie, Rodolphe; Boisen, Anja

2001-01-01

The cantilevers have integrated piezoresistive readout which, compared to optical readout, enables simple measurements on even non-transparent liquids, such as blood. First, we introduce a simple theory for using piezoresistive cantilevers as surface stress sensors. Then, the sensor fabrication...... based on conventional microfabrication is described and the sensor characterization is discussed. During the characterization we found a stress sensitivity of (ΔR/R)=4.6:10 -4 (N/m)-1 and a minimum detectable surface stress change of 2.6 mN/m. Aqua regia etch of gold on top of the cantilevers has been...... monitored, and immobilization of single-stranded thiol modified DNA-oligos has been detected by the sensor. Finally, it is demonstrated that it is possible to analyze two samples simultaneously by utilizing the laminar flow in the microliquid handling system....

Sensitivity Analysis of a Proposed Novel Opto-Nano-Mechanical Photodetector for Improving the Performance of LIDAR and Local Optical Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman, Gennady P; Bishop, Alan R; Chernobrod, Boris M; Hawley, Marilyn E; Brown, Geoffrey W

2006-01-01

We propose a novel approach to the development of a new generation of optical sensors with enhanced detection sensitivity for chemical species. The novelty comes from combining an extremely high Q cantilever sensor with an already well established very sensitive technique, frequency modulation (FM) spectroscopy. In existing implementations, this inherent sensitivity is limited by the inadequacy of current state-of-the-art electronic filters to differentiate the weak amplitude modulated (AM) signal from the inevitable high-frequency laser noise, a consequence of the deterioration in the quality factor with increasing frequency exhibited by these filters. Our approach combines FM techniques with the rapidly advancing technology of nano-mechanical resonator (cantilever) development. Here a cantilever functions as both a sensitive photodetector and a high-quality spectral or temporal filter. These ultra-low mass devices enable detection of the photon momentum rather than conventional detection by photon energy. At least one order of magnitude enhancement appears feasible with existing cantilever technology

Sensitivity Analysis of a Proposed Novel Opto-Nano-Mechanical Photodetector for Improving the Performance of LIDAR and Local Optical Sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berman, Gennady P; Bishop, Alan R; Chernobrod, Boris M; Hawley, Marilyn E; Brown, Geoffrey W [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

2006-05-15

We propose a novel approach to the development of a new generation of optical sensors with enhanced detection sensitivity for chemical species. The novelty comes from combining an extremely high Q cantilever sensor with an already well established very sensitive technique, frequency modulation (FM) spectroscopy. In existing implementations, this inherent sensitivity is limited by the inadequacy of current state-of-the-art electronic filters to differentiate the weak amplitude modulated (AM) signal from the inevitable high-frequency laser noise, a consequence of the deterioration in the quality factor with increasing frequency exhibited by these filters. Our approach combines FM techniques with the rapidly advancing technology of nano-mechanical resonator (cantilever) development. Here a cantilever functions as both a sensitive photodetector and a high-quality spectral or temporal filter. These ultra-low mass devices enable detection of the photon momentum rather than conventional detection by photon energy. At least one order of magnitude enhancement appears feasible with existing cantilever technology.

Investigation of polymer derived ceramics cantilevers for application of high speed atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chia-Yun

High speed Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has a wide variety of applications ranging from nanomanufacturing to biophysics. In order to have higher scanning speed of certain AFM modes, high resonant frequency cantilevers are needed; therefore, the goal of this research is to investigate using polymer derived ceramics for possible applications in making high resonant frequency AFM cantilevers using complex cross sections. The polymer derived ceramic that will be studied, is silicon carbide. Polymer derived ceramics offer a potentially more economic fabrication approach for MEMS due to their relatively low processing temperatures and ease of complex shape design. Photolithography was used to make the desired cantilever shapes with micron scale size followed by a wet etching process to release the cantilevers from the substrates. The whole manufacturing process we use borrow well-developed techniques from the semiconducting industry, and as such this project also could offer the opportunity to reduce the fabrication cost of AFM cantilevers and MEMS in general. The characteristics of silicon carbide made from the precursor polymer, SMP-10 (Starfire Systems), were studied. In order to produce high qualities of silicon carbide cantilevers, where the major concern is defects, proper process parameters needed to be determined. Films of polymer derived ceramics often have defects due to shrinkage during the conversion process. Thus control of defects was a central issue in this study. A second, related concern was preventing oxidation; the polymer derived ceramics we chose is easily oxidized during processing. Establishing an environment without oxygen in the whole process was a significant challenge in the project. The optimization of the parameters for using photolithography and wet etching process was the final and central goal of the project; well established techniques used in microfabrication were modified for use in making the cantilever in the project. The techniques

Even nanomechanical modes transduced by integrated photonics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westwood-Bachman, J. N.; Diao, Z.; Sauer, V. T. K.; Hiebert, W. K., E-mail: wayne.hiebert@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E1 (Canada); National Institute for Nanotechnology, 11421 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton T6G 2M9 (Canada); Bachman, D. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2V4 (Canada)

2016-02-08

We demonstrate the actuation and detection of even flexural vibrational modes of a doubly clamped nanomechanical resonator using an integrated photonics transduction scheme. The doubly clamped beam is formed by releasing a straight section of an optical racetrack resonator from the underlying silicon dioxide layer, and a step is fabricated in the substrate beneath the beam. The step causes uneven force and responsivity distribution along the device length, permitting excitation and detection of even modes of vibration. This is achieved while retaining transduction capability for odd modes. The devices are actuated via optical force applied with a pump laser. The displacement sensitivities of the first through third modes, as obtained from the thermomechanical noise floor, are 228 fm Hz{sup −1/2}, 153 fm Hz{sup −1/2}, and 112 fm Hz{sup −1/2}, respectively. The excitation efficiency for these modes is compared and modeled based on integration of the uneven forces over the mode shapes. While the excitation efficiency for the first three modes is approximately the same when the step occurs at about 38% of the beam length, the ability to tune the modal efficiency of transduction by choosing the step position is discussed. The overall optical force on each mode is approximately 0.4 pN μm{sup −1} mW{sup −1}, for an applied optical power of 0.07 mW. We show a potential application that uses the resonant frequencies of the first two vibrational modes of a buckled beam to measure the stress in the silicon device layer, estimated to be 106 MPa. We anticipate that the observation of the second mode of vibration using our integrated photonics approach will be useful in future mass sensing experiments.

3D Printing of Cantilever-Type Microstructures by Stereolithography of Ferromagnetic Photopolymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Credi, Caterina; Fiorese, Alessandro; Tironi, Marco; Bernasconi, Roberto; Magagnin, Luca; Levi, Marinella; Turri, Stefano

2016-10-05

In the present work, prototypes of polymeric cantilever-based magnetic microstructures were fabricated by means of stereolithography (SL). To this end, a UV-curable system suitable for high-resolution SL-processing was formulated by blending a bifunctional acrylic monomer with photoinitiator and visible dye whose content was tuned to tailor resin SL sensitivity. Subsequently, to confer ferromagnetic properties to the photopolymer, two different strategies were implemented. A two-step approach involved selective deposition of a metal layer on photopolymer SL-cured surfaces through an electroless plating process. On the other hand, SL-processable ferromagnetically responsive nanocomposites (FRCs) were obtained by directly loading magnetite nanoparticles within the photopolymer matrix. In order to achieve high-printing resolution, resin SL sensitivities were studied as a function of the various additives contents. Photocalorimetric analyses were also performed to investigate the photopolymer conversion efficiency upon light exposure. High-performing formulations were characterized by reduced penetration depth (printing of micrometric structures. Finally, the self-standing characteristics of the resin combined with the layered-fashion deposition typical of the 3D printing technologies were exploited for the fabrication of cantilever (CL)-based beams presented as possible magnetic sensors. As a demonstration of the feasibility of the two approaches, the magnetic beams were successfully actuated and their sensing performances in terms of static deflection vs applied magnetic field applied were qualitatively studied. Being not restricted to CL-based geometries, the combination of SL-printing with the formulation of novel smart photopolymers open the way toward the fabrication of high-customized complex 3D models integrating functional microstructures.

Effect of high energy X-ray irradiation on the nano-mechanical properties of human enamel and dentine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Xue; Zhang, Jing Yang; Cheng, Iek Ka [State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University, Chengdu (China); Li, Ji Yao, E-mail: jiyao_li@aliyun.com [West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu (China)

2016-05-01

Radiotherapy for malignancies in the head and neck can cause common complications that can result in tooth damage that are also known as radiation caries. The aim of this study was to examine damage to the surface topography and calculate changes in friction behavior and the nano-mechanical properties (elastic modulus, nano hardness and friction coefficient) of enamel and dentine from extracted human third molars caused by exposure to radiation. Enamel and dentine samples from 50 human third molars were randomly assigned to four test groups or a control group. The test groups were exposed to high energy X-rays at 2 Gy/day, 5 days/week for 5 days (10 Gy group), 15 days (30 Gy group), 25 days (50 Gy group), 35 days (70 Gy group); the control group was not exposed. The nano hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient were analyzed using a Hysitron Triboindenter. The nano-mechanical properties of both enamel and dentine showed significant dose-response relationships. The nano hardness and elastic modulus were most variable between 30-50 Gy, while the friction coefficient was most variable between 0-10 Gy for dentine and 30-50 Gy for enamel. After exposure to X-rays, the fracture resistance of the teeth clearly decreased (rapidly increasing friction coefficient with increasing doses under the same load), and they were more fragile. These nano-mechanical changes in dental hard tissue may increase the susceptibility to caries. Radiotherapy caused nano-mechanical changes in dentine and enamel that were dose related. The key doses were 30-50 Gy and the key time points occurred during the 15{sup th}-25{sup th} days of treatment, which is when application of measures to prevent radiation caries should be considered. (author)

Effect of high energy X-ray irradiation on the nano-mechanical properties of human enamel and dentine

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Xue LIANG

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Radiotherapy for malignancies in the head and neck can cause common complications that can result in tooth damage that are also known as radiation caries. The aim of this study was to examine damage to the surface topography and calculate changes in friction behavior and the nano-mechanical properties (elastic modulus, nanohardness and friction coefficient of enamel and dentine from extracted human third molars caused by exposure to radiation. Enamel and dentine samples from 50 human third molars were randomly assigned to four test groups or a control group. The test groups were exposed to high energy X-rays at 2 Gy/day, 5 days/week for 5 days (10 Gy group, 15 days (30 Gy group, 25 days (50 Gy group, 35 days (70 Gy group; the control group was not exposed. The nanohardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient were analyzed using a Hysitron Triboindenter. The nano-mechanical properties of both enamel and dentine showed significant dose-response relationships. The nanohardness and elastic modulus were most variable between 30-50 Gy, while the friction coefficient was most variable between 0-10 Gy for dentine and 30-50 Gy for enamel. After exposure to X-rays, the fracture resistance of the teeth clearly decreased (rapidly increasing friction coefficient with increasing doses under the same load, and they were more fragile. These nano-mechanical changes in dental hard tissue may increase the susceptibility to caries. Radiotherapy caused nano-mechanical changes in dentine and enamel that were dose related. The key doses were 30-50 Gy and the key time points occurred during the 15th-25th days of treatment, which is when application of measures to prevent radiation caries should be considered.

Effect of high energy X-ray irradiation on the nano-mechanical properties of human enamel and dentine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Xue; Zhang, Jing Yang; Cheng, Iek Ka; Li, Ji Yao

2016-01-01

Radiotherapy for malignancies in the head and neck can cause common complications that can result in tooth damage that are also known as radiation caries. The aim of this study was to examine damage to the surface topography and calculate changes in friction behavior and the nano-mechanical properties (elastic modulus, nano hardness and friction coefficient) of enamel and dentine from extracted human third molars caused by exposure to radiation. Enamel and dentine samples from 50 human third molars were randomly assigned to four test groups or a control group. The test groups were exposed to high energy X-rays at 2 Gy/day, 5 days/week for 5 days (10 Gy group), 15 days (30 Gy group), 25 days (50 Gy group), 35 days (70 Gy group); the control group was not exposed. The nano hardness, elastic modulus, and friction coefficient were analyzed using a Hysitron Triboindenter. The nano-mechanical properties of both enamel and dentine showed significant dose-response relationships. The nano hardness and elastic modulus were most variable between 30-50 Gy, while the friction coefficient was most variable between 0-10 Gy for dentine and 30-50 Gy for enamel. After exposure to X-rays, the fracture resistance of the teeth clearly decreased (rapidly increasing friction coefficient with increasing doses under the same load), and they were more fragile. These nano-mechanical changes in dental hard tissue may increase the susceptibility to caries. Radiotherapy caused nano-mechanical changes in dentine and enamel that were dose related. The key doses were 30-50 Gy and the key time points occurred during the 15 th -25 th days of treatment, which is when application of measures to prevent radiation caries should be considered. (author)

Numerical investigation of band gaps in 3D printed cantilever-in-mass metamaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Qureshi, Awais; Li, Bing; Tan, K. T.

2016-06-01

In this research, the negative effective mass behavior of elastic/mechanical metamaterials is exhibited by a cantilever-in-mass structure as a proposed design for creating frequency stopping band gaps, based on local resonance of the internal structure. The mass-in-mass unit cell model is transformed into a cantilever-in-mass model using the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory. An analytical model of the cantilever-in-mass structure is derived and the effects of geometrical dimensions and material parameters to create frequency band gaps are examined. A two-dimensional finite element model is created to validate the analytical results, and excellent agreement is achieved. The analytical model establishes an easily tunable metamaterial design to realize wave attenuation based on locally resonant frequency. To demonstrate feasibility for 3D printing, the analytical model is employed to design and fabricate 3D printable mechanical metamaterial. A three-dimensional numerical experiment is performed using COMSOL Multiphysics to validate the wave attenuation performance. Results show that the cantilever-in-mass metamaterial is capable of mitigating stress waves at the desired resonance frequency. Our study successfully presents the use of one constituent material to create a 3D printed cantilever-in-mass metamaterial with negative effective mass density for stress wave mitigation purposes.

Impact of operation conditions, foulant adsorption, and chemical cleaning on the nanomechanical properties of ultrafiltraion hollow fiber membranes

KAUST Repository

Gutierrez, Leonardo

2018-04-06

This study analyzed the change in nanomechanical properties of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes harvested from pilot-scale units after twelve months of operation. Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping technique was used to distinguish between adhesion, dissipation, deformation, and modulus while simultaneously generating a topographic image of membranes. Nanomechanical maps of virgin membranes evidenced surfaces of heterogeneous properties and were described by probability density functions. Operating conditions and feed quality exerted an impact on membranes. Clean harvested membranes showed a higher mean modulus and dissipation, and a lower deformation than virgin membranes, indicating stiffer membranes of lower elastic deformation. A significant fraction of these measurements displayed peak values deviating from the distribution; which represents regions of the membrane with properties highly differing from the probability density function. The membrane polymeric material experienced severe physicochemical changes by foulant adsorption and reaction with cleaning agents. Foulant adsorption on membranes was heterogeneous in both morphology and mechanical properties and could not be statistically described. Foulants, i.e., mainly consisting of polysaccharides and proteinaceous structures, displayed low elastic deformation and high roughness and adhesion. The presence of foulants after chemical cleaning and their high adhesion would be a direct nanoscale evidence of irreversible fouling. By the end of the operation, the Trans-Membrane Pressure experienced a 40% increase. The cleaning process was not able to fully recover the initial TMP, indicating irreversible fouling, i.e., permanent change in membrane characteristics and decrease in performance. These results suggest a link between the macroscopic properties and nanomechanical characteristics of membranes. This study advances our nanoscale understanding of the impact of fouling and operating conditions on

Experimental Determination of Bending Resonances of Millimeter Size PVF2 Cantilevers

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David F. Thompson

2003-07-01

Full Text Available The polymer piezoelectric polvinylidene fluoride has found widespread use in sensors and actuators. The bending mode of piezoelectricity offers very high sensitivities and low mechanical input impedance, but has not been studied in as much detail for sensor applications. We report the dynamic electromechanical properties of millimeter size cantilevers made from electroded films of PVF2. All devices tested had a single polymer layer. Several resonances are found below 1 kHz and the experimentally observed resonance frequency dependence on cantilever thickness and length are seen to agree well with published models which take the properties of the electrodes into account. It is found that bending resonances are also modulated by the width of the cantilever. Therefore, though the length and thickness control the resonance frequency most strongly, the actual realized value can be fine-tuned by changing cantilever width and the electrode material and its thickness. Further, all resonances display high piezoelectric coupling coefficients (keff, ranging between 0.2 - 0.35. The data presented here will be extremely useful in the design of sensors and actuators for a number of applications, since the combination of millimeter size scales and high piezoelectric sensitivities in the low audio range can be realized with this marriage of polymeric materials and cantilever geometries. Such an array of sensors can be used in cochlear implant applications, and when integrated with a resonance interrogation circuit can be used for the detection of low frequency vibrations of large structures. If appropriate mass/elasticity sensitive layers are coated on the electrodes, such a sensor can be used for the detection of a wide range of chemicals and biochemicals.

Analysis of dynamic cantilever behavior in tapping mode atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Wenqi; Zhang, Guang-Ming; Murphy, Mark F; Lilley, Francis; Harvey, David M; Burton, David R

2015-10-01

Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides phase images in addition to height and amplitude images. Although the behavior of tapping mode AFM has been investigated using mathematical modeling, comprehensive understanding of the behavior of tapping mode AFM still poses a significant challenge to the AFM community, involving issues such as the correct interpretation of the phase images. In this paper, the cantilever's dynamic behavior in tapping mode AFM is studied through a three dimensional finite element method. The cantilever's dynamic displacement responses are firstly obtained via simulation under different tip-sample separations, and for different tip-sample interaction forces, such as elastic force, adhesion force, viscosity force, and the van der Waals force, which correspond to the cantilever's action upon various different representative computer-generated test samples. Simulated results show that the dynamic cantilever displacement response can be divided into three zones: a free vibration zone, a transition zone, and a contact vibration zone. Phase trajectory, phase shift, transition time, pseudo stable amplitude, and frequency changes are then analyzed from the dynamic displacement responses that are obtained. Finally, experiments are carried out on a real AFM system to support the findings of the simulations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Piezoresistor-equipped fluorescence-based cantilever probe for near-field scanning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kan, Tetsuo; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Shimoyama, Isao

2007-08-01

Scanning near-field optical microscopes (SNOMs) with fluorescence-based probes are promising tools for evaluating the optical characteristics of nanoaperture devices used for biological investigations, and this article reports on the development of a microfabricated fluorescence-based SNOM probe with a piezoresistor. The piezoresistor was built into a two-legged root of a 160-microm-long cantilever. To improve the displacement sensitivity of the cantilever, the piezoresistor's doped area was shallowly formed on the cantilever surface. A fluorescent bead, 500 nm in diameter, was attached to the bottom of the cantilever end as a light-intensity-sensitive material in the visible-light range. The surface of the scanned sample was simply detected by the probe's end being displaced by contact with the sample. Measuring displacements piezoresistively is advantageous because it eliminates the noise arising from the use of the optical-lever method and is free of any disturbance in the absorption or the emission spectrum of the fluorescent material at the probe tip. The displacement sensitivity was estimated to be 6.1 x 10(-6) nm(-1), and the minimum measurable displacement was small enough for near-field measurement. This probe enabled clear scanning images of the light field near a 300 x 300 nm(2) aperture to be obtained in the near-field region where the tip-sample distance is much shorter than the light wavelength. This scanning result indicates that the piezoresistive way of tip-sample distance regulation is effective for characterizing nanoaperture optical devices.

System identification and control parameter optimization for a stylus profiler with exchangeable cantilevers

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Felix Ströer

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Stylus instruments are widely used in production metrology due to their robustness. Interchangeable cantilevers allow a wide range of measuring tasks to be covered with one measuring device. When approaching the sample, the positioning of the stylus instrument tip relative to the measurement object has to be accomplished in a controlled way in order to prevent damages to the specimen and the stylus cantilever. This is achieved by a closed-loop control. We present a method for the objective description of the stylus cantilever dynamics with system-theoretical techniques and show a simple iterative approach to optimize closed-loop control parameters with boundary conditions.

Segmentation of a Vibro-Shock Cantilever-Type Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Operating in Higher Transverse Vibration Modes

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Darius Zizys

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The piezoelectric transduction mechanism is a common vibration-to-electric energy harvesting approach. Piezoelectric energy harvesters are typically mounted on a vibrating host structure, whereby alternating voltage output is generated by a dynamic strain field. A design target in this case is to match the natural frequency of the harvester to the ambient excitation frequency for the device to operate in resonance mode, thus significantly increasing vibration amplitudes and, as a result, energy output. Other fundamental vibration modes have strain nodes, where the dynamic strain field changes sign in the direction of the cantilever length. The paper reports on a dimensionless numerical transient analysis of a cantilever of a constant cross-section and an optimally-shaped cantilever with the objective to accurately predict the position of a strain node. Total effective strain produced by both cantilevers segmented at the strain node is calculated via transient analysis and compared to the strain output produced by the cantilevers segmented at strain nodes obtained from modal analysis, demonstrating a 7% increase in energy output. Theoretical results were experimentally verified by using open-circuit voltage values measured for the cantilevers segmented at optimal and suboptimal segmentation lines.

Nonlinear dynamic response of cantilever beam tip during atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanolithography of copper surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeh, Y-L; Jang, M-J; Wang, C-C; Lin, Y-P; Chen, K-S

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the nonlinear dynamic response of an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever beam tip during the nanolithography of a copper (Cu) surface using a high-depth feed. The dynamic motion of the tip is modeled using a combined approach based on Newton's law and empirical observations. The cutting force is determined from experimental observations of the piling height on the Cu surface and the rotation angle of the cantilever beam tip. It is found that the piling height increases linearly with the cantilever beam carrier velocity. Furthermore, the cantilever beam tip is found to execute a saw tooth motion. Both this motion and the shear cutting force are nonlinear. The elastic modulus in the y direction is variable. Finally, the velocity of the cantilever beam tip as it traverses the specimen surface has a discrete characteristic rather than a smooth, continuous profile

Fabrication and characterization of large arrays of mesoscopic gold rings on large-aspect-ratio cantilevers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngo, D. Q.; Petković, I., E-mail: ivana.petkovic@yale.edu; Lollo, A. [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Castellanos-Beltran, M. A. [National Institute for Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States); Harris, J. G. E. [Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States)

2014-10-15

We have fabricated large arrays of mesoscopic metal rings on ultrasensitive cantilevers. The arrays are defined by electron beam lithography and contain up to 10{sup 5} rings. The rings have a circumference of 1 μm, and are made of ultrapure (6N) Au that is deposited onto a silicon-on-insulator wafer without an adhesion layer. Subsequent processing of the SOI wafer results in each array being supported at the end of a free-standing cantilever. To accommodate the large arrays while maintaining a low spring constant, the cantilevers are nearly 1 mm in both lateral dimensions and 100 nm thick. The extreme aspect ratio of the cantilevers, the large array size, and the absence of a sticking layer are intended to enable measurements of the rings' average persistent current in the presence of relatively small magnetic fields. We describe the motivation for these measurements, the fabrication of the devices, and the characterization of the cantilevers' mechanical properties. We also discuss the devices' expected performance in measurements of .