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Sensors 2011, 11(11), 10129-10142; doi:10.3390/s111110129
Article
Electrostatic Excitation for the Force Amplification of Microcantilever Sensors
Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology Research Lab, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, K.N.Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 19991-43344, Iran
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 21 September 2011; in revised form: 17 October 2011 / Accepted: 17 October 2011 / Published: 25 October 2011
(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)
Download PDF Full-Text [381 KB, uploaded 25 October 2011 17:18 CEST]
Abstract: This paper describes an electrostatic excited microcantilever sensor operating in static mode that is more sensitive than traditional microcantilevers. The proposed sensor comprises a simple microcantilever with electrostatic excitation ability and an optical or piezoresistive detector. Initially the microcantilever is excited by electrostatic force to near pull-in voltage. The nonlinear behavior of the microcantilever in near pull-in voltage i.e., the inverse-square relation between displacement and electrostatic force provides a novel method for force amplification. In this situation, any external load applied to the sensor will be amplified by electrostatic force leading to more displacement. We prove that the proposed microcantilever sensor can be 2 to 100 orders more sensitive compared with traditional microcantilevers sensors of the same dimensions. The results for surface stress and the free-end point force load are discussed.
Keywords: microcantilever; force amplification; pull-in voltage
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MDPI and ACS Style
Shokuhfar, A.; Heydari, P.; Ebrahimi-Nejad, S. Electrostatic Excitation for the Force Amplification of Microcantilever Sensors. Sensors 2011, 11, 10129-10142.
AMA StyleShokuhfar A, Heydari P, Ebrahimi-Nejad S. Electrostatic Excitation for the Force Amplification of Microcantilever Sensors. Sensors. 2011; 11(11):10129-10142.
Chicago/Turabian StyleShokuhfar, Ali; Heydari, Payam; Ebrahimi-Nejad, Salman. 2011. "Electrostatic Excitation for the Force Amplification of Microcantilever Sensors." Sensors 11, no. 11: 10129-10142.