Ultrafine Aerosol Particle Sizer Based on Piezoresistive Microcantilever Resonators with Integrated Air-Flow Channel

To monitor airborne nano-sized particles (NPs), a single-chip differential mobility particle sizer (DMPS) based on resonant micro cantilevers in defined micro-fluidic channels (µFCs) is introduced. A size bin of the positive-charged fraction of particles herein is separated from the air stream by aligning their trajectories onto the cantilever under the action of a perpendicular electrostatic field of variable strength. We use previously described µFCs and piezoresistive micro cantilevers (PMCs) of 16 ng mass fabricated using micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology, which offer a limit of detection of captured particle mass of 0.26 pg and a minimum detectable particulate mass concentration in air of 0.75 µg/m3. Mobility sizing in 4 bins of a nebulized carbon aerosol NPs is demonstrated based on finite element modelling (FEM) combined with a-priori knowledge of particle charge state. Good agreement of better than 14% of mass concentration is observed in a chamber test for the novel MEMS-DMPS vs. a simultaneously operated standard fast mobility particle sizer (FMPS) as reference instrument. Refreshing of polluted cantilevers is feasible without de-mounting the sensor chip from its package by multiply purging them alternately in acetone steam and clean air

Design of Miniaturized, Self-Out-Readable Cantilever Resonator for Highly Sensitive Airborne Nanoparticle Detection

In this paper, a self-out-readable, miniaturized cantilever resonator for highly sensitive airborne nanoparticle (NP) detection is presented. The cantilever, which is operated in the fundamental in-plane resonance mode, is used as a microbalance with femtogram resolution. To achieve a maximum measurement signal of the piezo resistive Wheatstone half-bridge, the geometric parameters of the sensor design were optimized by finite element modelling (FEM). Struts at the sides of the cantilever resonator act as piezo resistors and enable an electrical read-out of the phase information of the cantilever movement whereby they do not contribute to the resonators rest mass. For the optimized design, a resonator mass of 0.93 ng, a resonance frequency of ~440 kHz, and thus a theoretical sensitivity of 4.23 fg/Hz can be achieved. A μ-channel guiding a particle-laden air flow towards the cantilever is integrated into the sensor chip. Electrically charged NPs will be collected by an electrostatic field between the cantilever and a counter-electrode at the edges of the μ-channel. Such μ-channels will also be used to accomplish particle separation for sizeselective NP detection. Throughout, the presented airborne NP sensor is expected to demonstrate significant improvements in the field of handheld, MEMS-based NP monitoring devices

Optimizing a Cantilever Measurement System towards High Speed, Nonreactive Contact-Resonance-Profilometry

An existing phase-locked-loop (PLL) based contact-resonance measurement system is studied and optimized. Improvements to the electronics’ circuit to reduce both nonlinear behavior and noise are realized and experimentally tested. The improvements enable to analyze signals even at highly damped vibrations of the cantilever

Silicon Microcantilevers with ZnO Nanorods/Chitosan-SAMs Hybrids on Its Back Surface for Humidity Sensing

This paper reports a piezoresistive silicon microcantilever-based gravimetric humidity sensor, where a ZnO nanofilm (200 nm) and ZnO nanorods (NRs) with different lengths (1.5 µm and 6 µm) modified with chitosan self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are coated on the microcantilevers’ back surface as the sensing material. Thanks to the new sensor design, the resonant frequency (RF) shifts induced by the mass adsorption on the high surface-area-to-volume ratio, hybrid-sensing nanostructure can be tracked directly by monitoring the output of the p-diffused full Wheatstone bridge. By depositing ZnO NRs and Chitosan SAMs, direct-reading microcantilevers with high repeatability, reliability and high sensitivity (15 Hz/%RH) can be achieved

Strategy toward Miniaturized, Self-out-Readable Resonant Cantilever and Integrated Electrostatic Microchannel Separator for Highly Sensitive Airborne Nanoparticle Detection

In this paper, a self-out-readable, miniaturized cantilever resonator for highly sensitive airborne nanoparticle (NP) detection is presented. The cantilever, which is operated in the fundamental in-plane resonance mode, is used as a microbalance with femtogram resolution. To maximize sensitivity and read-out signal amplitude of the piezo-resistive Wheatstone half bridge, the geometric parameters of the sensor design are optimized by finite element modelling (FEM). The electrical read-out of the cantilever movement is realized by piezo-resistive struts at the sides of the cantilever resonator that enable real-time tracking using a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit. Cantilevers with minimum resonator mass of 1.72 ng and resonance frequency of ~440 kHz were fabricated, providing a theoretical sensitivity of 7.8 fg/Hz. In addition, for electrostatic NP collection, the cantilever has a negative-biased electrode located at its free end. Moreover, the counter-electrode surrounding the cantilever and a µ-channel, guiding the particle-laden air flow towards the cantilever, are integrated with the sensor chip. µ-channels and varying sampling voltages will also be used to accomplish particle separation for size-selective NP detection. To sum up, the presented airborne NP sensor is expected to demonstrate significant improvements in the field of handheld, micro-/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS)-based NP monitoring devices

Fabrication of ZnO Nanorods on MEMS Piezoresistive Silicon Microcantilevers for Environmental Monitoring

In this study, a ZnO nanorods (NRs) patterned MEMS piezoresistive silicon micro-cantilever was fabricated as environmental monitor. The fabrication starts from bulk silicon, utilizing photolithography, diffusion, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) cryogenic dry etching, Zinc DC-sputtering, and chemical bath deposition (CBD) etc. This sensor shows a humidity sensitivity value of 6.35 ± 0.27 ppm/RH% at 25 °C in the range from 30% RH to 80% RH

Area-Selective Growth of Aligned ZnO Nanorod Arrays for MEMS Device Applications

ZnO nanorods (NRs) arrays with good vertical alignment were selectively grown on microscale patterned surfaces by a MEMS-compatible, low-temperature chemical-bath deposition method (CBD). The direct-current (DC) sputtered and subsequently annealed ZnO seed-layer was found to have a crucial effect on the ZnO NRs growth. Depending on the pre-annealing temperature between 200 °C and 700 °C, which is compatible with our microcantilever fabrication process, diameters and area densities of the NRs of 60–99 nm and 17–27 µm−2 were observed, respectively, with the best alignment at 600 °C. A surface-area enlargement factor of 48 was achieved with respect to a ZnO layer indicating the potential of ZnO NRs arrays for MEMS applications, such as gas sensing

Piezo Resistive Read-Out Contact Resonance Spectroscopy for Material and Layer Analysis at High-Aspect-Ratio Geometries

A piezo resistive, phase locked loop (PLL) controlled micro tactile measurement system for contact resonance spectroscopy (CRS) at high-aspect-ratio geometries was developed and characterised. Therefore, a piezo resistive silicon cantilever with a silicon tip at its free end was brought into contact with a sample surface and excited into resonance by a piezo actuator. The resonance frequency of the contacted cantilever was tracked by a homemade closed-loop PLL circuit. Different materials and layer thicknesses of photo resist (PR) on silicon were used to validate the system. To optimise the sensitivity and efficiency of the measurement system, amplitude and phase of the cantilever in surface contact were analysed under different contact forces and excitation amplitudes

Design of Miniaturized, Self-Out-Readable Cantilever Resonator for Highly Sensitive Airborne Nanoparticle Detection

In this paper, a self-out-readable, miniaturized cantilever resonator for highly sensitive airborne nanoparticle (NP) detection is presented. The cantilever, which is operated in the fundamental in-plane resonance mode, is used as a microbalance with femtogram resolution. To achieve a maximum measurement signal of the piezo resistive Wheatstone half-bridge, the geometric parameters of the sensor design were optimized by finite element modelling (FEM). Struts at the sides of the cantilever resonator act as piezo resistors and enable an electrical read-out of the phase information of the cantilever movement whereby they do not contribute to the resonators rest mass. For the optimized design, a resonator mass of 0.93 ng, a resonance frequency of ~440 kHz, and thus a theoretical sensitivity of 4.23 fg/Hz can be achieved. A μ-channel guiding a particle-laden air flow towards the cantilever is integrated into the sensor chip. Electrically charged NPs will be collected by an electrostatic field between the cantilever and a counter-electrode at the edges of the μ-channel. Such μ-channels will also be used to accomplish particle separation for sizeselective NP detection. Throughout, the presented airborne NP sensor is expected to demonstrate significant improvements in the field of handheld, MEMS-based NP monitoring devices