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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...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bertke, Maik, Xu, Jiushuai, Fahrbach, Michael, Setiono, Andi, Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo, Peiner, Erwin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6412668/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30795547
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s19040901
Descripción
Sumario: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.