Piezoresistive Cantilever Beam for Force Sensing | in Two Dimensions

A novel two-dimensional piezoresistive nano-Newton resolution force sensing cantilever is presented. The silicon cantilever is fabricated using bulk micromachining. Two 500-nm-thick p-doped epitaxial silicon piezoresistive sensors are located on both sides of the cantilever. This structure detects b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE sensors journal 2007-01, Vol.7 (1), p.96-104
Main Authors: Duc, T C, Creemer, J F, Sarro, P M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Detection
Micromachining
Nanocomposites
Nanostructure
Sensors
Silicon
Surgery
Two dimensional
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A novel two-dimensional piezoresistive nano-Newton resolution force sensing cantilever is presented. The silicon cantilever is fabricated using bulk micromachining. Two 500-nm-thick p-doped epitaxial silicon piezoresistive sensors are located on both sides of the cantilever. This structure detects both the lateral and vertical applied forces by electronic switching between two configurations of a Wheatstone bridge. A force sensitivity is measured up to 100 and 540 V/N for lateral and vertical configurations, respectively. The corresponding force resolution is estimated at 21 and 4 nN, respectively. This force-sensing cantilever can be used for measuring the contact force between manipulating tools and small objects in, e.g., living cell handling, minimally invasive surgery, and microassembly.
ISSN:1530-437X
DOI:10.1109/JSEN.2006.886992