A phase-locked loop frequency tracking system for portable microelectromechanical piezoresistive cantilever mass sensors

A closed-loop circuit is developed in this work for tracking the resonant frequency of silicon microcantilever mass sensors. The proposed closed-loop system is mainly based on a phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit. To lock onto the resonant frequency of the resonator, an actuation signal generated from a voltage-controlled oscillator is fed back to the input reference signal of the cantilever sensor. In addition to the PLL circuit, an instrumentation amplifier and an active low-pass filter are connected to the system for gaining the cantilever output signal and transforming a rectangular PLL output signal into a sinusoidal signal used for sensor actuation, respectively. 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 employed to actuate the cantilever into resonance. From the measurement results, the integrated closed-loop system is successfully employed to characterize a 9.4 kHz cantilever sensor under ambient temperature cross-sensitivity yielding a sensor temperature coefficient of ?32.8 ppm/°C. In addition to it, the sensor was also exposed to exhaled human breath condensates and e-cigarette aerosols to test the sensor sensitivity obtained from mass-loading effects. With a high frequency stability (i.e., a frequency deviation as low as 0.02 Hz), this developed system is intended to support the miniaturization of the instrumentation modules for cantilever-based nanoparticle detectors (CANTORs).     

Finite element modeling and experimental proof of NEMS-based silicon pillar resonators for nanoparticle mass sensing applications

The potential use of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) created in silicon nanopillars (SiNPLs) is investigated in this work as a new generation of aerosol nanoparticle (NP)-detecting device. The sensor structures are created and simulated using a finite element modeling (FEM) tool of COMSOL Multiphysics 4.3b to study the resonant characteristics and the sensitivity of the SiNPL for femtogram NP mass detection in 3-D structures. The SiNPL arrays use a piezoelectric stack for resonance excitation. To achieve an optimal structure and to investigate the etching effect on the fabricated resonators, SiNPLs with different designs of meshes, sidewall profiles, heights, and diameters are simulated and analyzed. To validate the FEM results, fabricated SiNPLs with a high aspect ratio of approximately 60 are used and characterized in resonant frequency measurements where their results agree well with those simulated by FEM. Furthermore, the deflection of a SiNPL can be enhanced by increasing the applied piezoactuator voltage. By depositing different NPs [i.e., gold (Au), silver (Ag), titanium dioxide (TiO₂), silicon dioxide (SiO₂), and carbon black NPs] on the SiNPLs, the decrease of the resonant frequency is clearly shown confirming their potential to be used as airborne NP mass sensor with femtogram resolution level. A coupling concept of the SiNPL arrays with piezoresistive cantilever resonator in terms of the mass loading effect is also studied concerning the possibility of obtaining electrical readout signal from the resonant sensors.     

Design and Analysis of Microcantilevers for Biosensing Applications

We have analyzed the detection of microcantilevers utilized in biosensing chips. First, the primary deflection due to the chemical reaction between the analyte molecules and the receptor coating, which produces surface stresses on the receptor side is analyzed. Oscillating flow conditions, which are the main source of turbulence in cantilever based biosensing chips, are found to produce substantial deflections in the microcantilever at relatively large frequency of turbulence. Then mechanical design and optimization of piezoresistive cantilevers for biosensing applications is studied. Models are described for predicting the static behavior of cantilevers with elastic and piezoresistive layers. Chemo-mechanical binding forces have been analyzed to understand issues of saturation over the cantilever surface. Furthermore, the introduction of stress concentration regions during cantilever fabrication has been discussed which greatly enhances the detection sensitivity through increased surface stress, and novel microcantilever assemblies are presented for the first time that can increase the deflection due to chemical reaction. Finally an experiment was made to demonstrate the shift of resonant frequency of cantilever used as biosensor. The relation between resonant frequency shift and the surface stress was analyzed.     

Resonantly excited AlN-based microcantilevers for immunosensing

The purpose of this work is to study the performance of resonantly driven microcantilevers excited with a piezoelectric aluminium nitride thin film as a mass sensor for the detection of interactions in the field of immunosensing. Two cantilevers with different width (i.e. 300 and 200?μm), but constant length and thickness of 300 and 20?μm were considered. The figures of merit of these structures, such as the mass sensitivity and the limit of mass detection, were determined. According to the results obtained, a cantilever being 300?×?200?μm² in size and a high frequency mode was the best combination to detect antibody/antigen interactions. The previous combination was applied to detect the affinity between rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the complementary anti-rabbit IgG produced in goat. The binding was registered as a shift of the resonance frequency of the mode under investigation and the correlation between the added mass and the measured shift is analysed.     

Silicon micro-cantilever chemical sensors fabricated in double-layer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer

Micro-cantilever piezoresistive sensors are optimally designed and fabricated in a double-layer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The sensor geometry is optimized by placing the sensing piezoresistor at the cantilever root region to increase effective piezoreisistive sensing area. According to finite-element simulation results, high sensitivity can be obtained by design the cantilever into a wide and short shape. In order to use single-crystalling silicon to fabricate both the cantilever and the piezoresistor for high sensitivity, double-layer SOI wafer, which has two active layers and two insulating layers, is proposed to fabricate the self-sensing micro-cantilever sensor. The piezoresistor is made of the top active-layer single-crystalline silicon. Without p–n junction isolation, such a piezoresistor can be free from leakage-current relative noise that helps to achieve fine sensing resolution. The bottom active-layer is used to form the cantilever, with well controlled cantilever thickness and high fabrication yield. With the top surface of the micro-cantilever is modified with the functionalized self-assembled monolayer, detection of trace-concentration Trinitrotoluene (TNT) vapor is experimentally carried out, with reproducible sensing response to 7.6 ppb TNT.     

平面内谐振式微悬臂梁生化传感器的设计与制造

给出了一种新型的基于平面内谐振模态的电热驱动微悬臂梁的工作原理和制造方案。相比于传统的平面外谐振模态谐振式悬臂梁,该设计能有效地降低微悬臂梁在液体中工作时的拖曳力,从而降低其振动能量损失,使得其接入锁相环接口电路后的闭环品质因数达到了249。电热驱动和压阻检测方式便于工艺集成和快速检测。本文给出了基于SOI硅片和深反应离子刻蚀(DRIE)的悬臂梁制作方案,并分别在空气和水中对悬臂梁的谐振特性进行了测试。     

Dew point and relative humidity measurement using a quartz resonant sensor

A new dew point measurement device for humidity measurement in high temperature environment using a quartz crystal sensor was proposed. Combined with Peltier module and quartz crystal, active condensation occurs in the quartz surface to change the mass on the surface of quartz crystal, and use the shift of its resonant frequency identify the time of condensation. This quartz sensor does not require any absorbent material, and it is directly stuck on the Peltier element. The sensor system can also be achieved relative humidity measurement based on dew point and ambient-temperature measuring. It can operate in the range of dew point temperature from 50 to ?30 °C, and in the range of relative humidity from 1 to 90 % RH. The measured dew points values and relative humidity values showed very good agreement with reference values and were within ±0.3 °C, 1 % RH, respectively over the whole temperature range.     

A trapezoidal cantilever density sensor based on MEMS technology

A trapezoidal cantilever density sensor is developed based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The sensor measures fluid density through the relationship between the density and the resonant frequency of the cantilever immersed in the fluid. To improve the sensitivity of the sensor, the modal and harmonic response analyses of trapezoidal and rectangular cantilevers are simulated by ANSYS software. The higher the resonant frequency of the cantilever immersed in the fluid, the higher the sensitivity of the sensor; the higher the resonant strain value, the easier the detection of the output signal of the sensor. Based on the results of simulation, the trapezoidal cantilever is selected to measure the densities of dimethyl silicone and toluene at the temperature ranges of 30 to 55 °C and 26 to 34 °C, respectively. Experimental results show that the trapezoidal cantilever density sensor has a good performance.     

Analysis and design for piezoresistive accelerometer geometry considering sensitivity,resonant frequency and cross-axis sensitivity

Presented in this paper is the geometrical analysis and design for piezoresistive accelerometers. An improved figure of merit (FOM), considering sensitivity, resonant frequency and cross-axis sensitivity, is established to evaluate the sensor characteristics. Three conventional geometries, including cantilever-beam, quad-beam and cross-beam, are investigated to explore the influence from sensor configurations on the FOM. Based on the obtained results, a multi-beam structure is developed to provide an available solution to the drawback of low FOM in normal geometries. The proposed design increases its resonant frequency at the cost of a slight loss in sensitivity, and declines the cross-axis sensitivity by the specific configuration, which is made possible by incorporating two tiny sensing beams into the quad-beam structure. The simulated FOM is about 5.5 times of the conditional structures. The fabricated prototype is characterized for static parameters and resonant frequency. Experimental results show that the measured FOM is about 4.85 × 10⁹ Hz², much higher than the existing designs in literatures or on the market.     

用于痕量胺类同系物检测的谐振式微悬臂梁传感器

采用化学修饰法,将酸性羧基基团嫁接于高比表面的积的SBA- 15介孔材料中,然后将该功能化介孔材料负载于集成谐振式微悬臂梁表面,制得一种高性能的挥发性胺类同系物传感器.胺类分子的吸附将导致质量型微悬臂梁传感器谐振频率的下降,传感器检测下限可达ppb量级.对一系列胺类同系物的检测结果表明,胺类分子在羧基功能化介孔表面的吸...     

Surface acoustic wave based sensors employing ionic liquid for hydrogen sulfide gas detection

This paper describes a new type hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas sensor using ionic liquid (IL). In this sensor, a reservoir for the IL was integrated on a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator. The IL serves as an absorber for H₂S gas. Mass change due to this absorption is detected as shift in the resonant frequency. In this study, we fabricated and demonstrated the sensor using the lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) SAW resonator with the resonant frequency of 38 MHz. The integrated reservoir was filled by the IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]-[PF₆]). As an experimental result, we observed the linear correlation between the frequency-shift and the exposure time of the sensor to the H₂S gas.     

三梁-质量块敏感结构高性能压阻式碰撞加速度计

研究了一种主要应用于碰撞测试领域的硅微机械高性能压阻式加速度计,量程范围为2 000 gn.为满足技术性能要求,加速度计采用一种三梁-质量块结合梳齿阻尼器的新颖结构,从而可以同时具有高灵敏度及高动态特性(包括高谐振频率及精确阻尼控制).这种加速度计采用n型(100)普通硅片制作,主要工艺过程包括双面ICP深刻蚀和压阻集成工艺.振动台测试结果表明,加速度计的灵敏度为0.11 mV/gn/5 V,谐振频率为31 kHz,灵敏度±5%变化下平坦带宽大于5 kHz.采用落杆测试法测试了加速度计的冲击响应及0～2 000 gn满量程范围内的非线性度.封装后的加速度计承受15 000 gn的冲击测试后没有受到损坏.     

Nature of sensitive high-order resonant modes in piezoelectric excited millimeter sized cantilever (PEMC) sensors

High-order resonant modes of piezoelectric-excited cantilever (PEMC) sensors were previously shown to be very highly sensitive at 0.3-2 fg/Hz for in-liquid applications. The purpose of this work is to show experimentally and with finite element model (FEM) simulations that such sensitive modes are strongly influenced by the sensor width, suggesting that the sensitive modes are torsional or buckling modes. From experimental observations the resonant frequency of high-order modes had a strong dependence on width, where a sensor with a smaller width had resonant modes at a higher frequency. Also the FEM simulations indicate that in this frequency range there are resonant modes with a buckling nature that change for a decrease in width, consistent with experimental observations. In order to establish that the width-dependent modes are mass-sensitive in liquids, resonant frequency change to density changes in flow experiments under fully liquid-immersed conditions were determined. Average frequency shifts of 475 ± 49 Hz (n = 5), 533 ± 31 Hz (n = 5), 715 ± 103 Hz (n = 5) and 725 ± 37 Hz (n = 5) were obtained for the four designs investigated in response to a density change of 0.0118 g/cm³. The results show that the resonant frequency response to variations in the geometry provides insightful data on the role of width in PEMC sensor design.     

Principles of nonlinear MEMS-resonators regarding magnetic-field detection and the interaction with a capacitive read-out system

This paper presents a magnetic field sensor with capacitive read-out, whose active element is a micromachined mechanical resonator. The MEMS magnetic field sensor exploits the Lorentz force to detect external magnetic flux density through the displacement of the resonant structure, which can be measured with optical and capacitive sensing techniques. The micromachined U-shaped cantilever features a length of 2 mm, a base width of 90 μm and a thickness of 20 μm, and is manufactured in SOI technology. The designed sensor has a measured resonant frequency of 4.359 kHz for the fundamental mode and a calculated mass of the flexible structure of 24.5 ng. A quality factor in the order of 10⁴ at an ambient pressure of 0.3 Pa has been measured where a magnetic field resolution of 15 nT can be achieved. Although these arrangements are well suited to capacitively sense the vibrations caused by the Lorentz force on the current lead on the silicon part, care has to be taken to avoid undesired mutual interferences. A serious interference was observed in case of a DC bias voltage at the readout capacitance and a significant voltage drop caused by the current needed for the generation of the Lorentz force. This work investigates in detail this phenomenon as well as the complete physical transduction chain and improves the understanding of such microelectromechanical systems significantly. An analytical model of the electrostatic system is established including all relevant components and their interactions as well as the motion of the MEMS part. The importance of electrostatic back-action for a feasible detection limit for magnetic fields was recognized for the first time.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube-polyimide nanocomposite for MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensor applications

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-polyimide (PI) nanocomposite was prepared with different MWCNT concentrations and characterized for their piezoresistive response. The morphology and mechanical behavior of the nanocomposite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and force–displacement spectroscopy respectively. The surface conductivity of the nanocomposite was determined by atomic force microscopy in current mode. Studies reveal that this nanocomposite will be useful for strain-sensing element in micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)/nano electro mechanical system (NEMS) based piezoresistive pressure sensor applications. The study shows that the nanocomposite with 2 % MWCNT content is a unique piezoresistive sensing element for MEMS/NEMS pressure sensor.     

Effect of surface roughness on liquid property measurements using mechanically oscillating sensors

The resonant frequency and quality factor Q of a liquid immersed magnetoelastic sensor are shown to shift linearly with the liquid viscosity and density product. Measurements using different grade oils, organic chemicals, and glycerol-water mixtures show that the surface roughness of the sensor in combination with the molecular size of the liquid play important roles in determining measurement sensitivity, which can be controlled through adjusting the surface roughness of the sensor surface. A theoretical model describing the sensor resonant frequency and quality factor Q as a function of liquid properties is developed using a novel equivalent circuit approach. Experimental results are in agreement with theory when the liquid molecule size is larger than the average surface roughness. However, when the molecular size of the liquid is small relative to the surface roughness features molecules are trapped, and the trapped molecules act both as a mass load and viscous load; the result is higher viscous damping of the sensor than expected.     

微悬臂梁谐振式气体传感器研究进展

微机械谐振式传感器已经成为微型机电系统(MEMS)领域的研究热点。讨论了微悬臂梁谐振式气体传感器的工作原理,介绍微悬臂梁表面修饰的关键技术、主要方法和基于微悬臂梁的谐振式气体传感器领域的研究状况以及近五年以来该领域的研究进展,并对基于微悬臂梁的谐振式气体传感器的发展方向和应用前景做了展望。     

Micromachined Acoustic Resonant Mass Sensor

This paper describes a highly sensitive, film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) mass sensor (built on a micromachined silicon-nitride diaphragm with a piezoelectric thin film and Al electrodes) that can operate in vapor and liquid. The sensitivity of the device to mass change on its surface has been investigated by having various thicknesses of silicon-nitride support layer and also of Al layer. The sensor is measured to have a mass sensitivity of 726 cm$^2$/g, which is about 50 times that of a typical quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). In vapor, the sensor (operating at around 1 GHz and having a relatively high quality (Q) factor of 200–300) shows a minimum detectable frequency shift of about 400 Hz, which corresponds to a mass change of$10^-9$g/cm$^2$on the sensor surface, comparable with that detectable by a QCM. In liquid, though the Q usually drops more than an order of magnitude, we obtain a Q of 40 at 2 GHz by using a second harmonic resonance of the resonator. And with the Q, a minimum 5 ppm resonant frequency shift can be detected, which corresponds to$10^- 8$g/cm$^2$change on the sensor surface.hfillhbox[1374]     

Modeling of gold microbeams as strain and pressure sensors for characterizing MEMS packages

This work presents the modeling of gold microbeams for characterizing Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) packages in terms of both strains induced to the MEMS devices and hermetic sealing capability. The proposed test structures are based on arrays of rectangular-shaped clamped-free and clamped–clamped beams, to be realized with a film of electroplated gold by surface micromachining technology. The resonant frequency of the microbeams is modeled by FEM simulations as a function of substrate deformations, which could be induced by the package. Clamped–clamped bridges show a linear change of the square of the resonant frequency in case of in-plane deformations, in fairly good agreement with an approximate analytical model. Cantilever beams are modeled as variable capacitors to detect out-of-plane deformations. Finally, an analytical model to study cantilever beams as resonators for detecting pressure changes is discussed and compared with preliminary experimental results, showing an impact on the quality factor in a range from 10^?2 mbar to 1?bar.     

Packaging effect investigation of WL-CSP with a central opening: A case study on pressure sensors

This study reports the packaging effects of wafer-level chip scale packaging (WL-CSP) with a central opening on piezoresistive pressure sensors. A regular pressure sensor with calculated sensitivity of 3.1 × 10^?2 mVV^?1 kPa^?1 and a sensitive pressure sensor with calculated sensitivity of 32.0 × 10^?2 mVV^?1 kPa^?1 are investigated. A finite element (FE) model validated by experimental measurements is used to explore the sensing characteristics of the pressure sensors. The results show that the output variation of the packaged pressure sensor is dominated by the CTE mismatch not the piezoresistive coefficient change as temperature varies. WL-CSP with small polyimide (PI) thickness and large PI opening produces small packaging induced stress, making it ideal for precision sensing for both regular and sensitive pressure sensors.