Design of micro-cantilever actuators for measuring surface tension of sub microliter volumes applied towards monitoring interfacial processes
EMSL Project ID
20491
Abstract
It is well known that ambient moisture results in a capillary effect between AFM probes and surfaces when scanning in air. This phenomenon has been largely overlooked with respect to cantilever based sensors and actuators. We hypothesize that a thin film of liquid spread exclusively over one face of a microcantilever will enhance sensitivity by creating a well-defined three-phase boundary. Unlike standard microcantilever sensors that rely on covalent surface modification to express target chemistries, the proposed method is a generic approach for monitoring surface tension changes at the interface through changes in microcantilever deflection. This research has broad applications towards national security, where development of arrayed microcantilever sensors would allow parallel detection of multiple targets in real-time.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2006-07-17
End Date
2007-10-01
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Saraf LV, and DW Britt. 2011. "Large Area Microcorrals and Cavity Formation on Cantilevers using a Focused Ion Beam." Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B--Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures 29(5):Article No. 051603. doi:10.1116/1.3626833