Stochastic processes in the form of the classical Brownian motion or internal phonon fluctuations may be studied by the use of a microcantilever. We present certain dynamic aspects of the behavior of the noise and the delayed fluctuations exhibited by a microcantilever. In particular, we present an analytic solution describing the transient response of the oscillator and discuss how self-excita...

Recent terrorist events have demonstrated that an urgent and widespread need exists for the development of novel sensors for threat detection, especially biowarfare agents. The advent of inexpensive, mass-produced microcantilever sensors promises to bring about a revolution in detection of terrorist threats. Extremely sensitive and highly selective sensors can be developed for using a microcant...

To control indoor air quality, a novel freon gas sensor of piezoelectric microcantilever coated with zeolite has been developed in this paper. Excited by an ac voltage, the microcantilever is employed to detect the concentration of sample freon-12 gas ranged from 0 to 100 ppm by the effect of the specific MFI zeolite modification. High selectivity and sensitivity combined with excellent repeata...

A study was conducted to demonstrate the applications of microcantilevers in biomedical and thermo/fluid fields. The deflection of the microcantilevers due to biomaterial and turbulence effects was highlighted in this work. The novel patented microcantilever assemblies that were presented in this study can increase the signal and decrease the unfavorable deflection due to flow disturbances. Thi...

A composite self-excited PZT-glass cantilever (4mm in length and 2mm width) was fabricated and used to measure attachment of model protein and a model pathogen. Key feature of the microcantilever is that its resonant frequency is dependent on its mass. The cantilever had a mass sensitivity of 5x10-11 g/Hz. The change in resonant frequency was measured as antibody, protein, reacts with the amine...

Bimaterial microcantilevers are used in numerous applications in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for thermal, mechanical, optical, tribological and biological functionalities. Unfortunately, the residual stress-induced curvature and combined effects of creep and stress relaxation in the thin film significantly compromises the performance of these structures. To fully understand the themom...

The design, modelling, fabrication and test of a device prototype, based on microcantilever capacitively connected to folded-end half-wave dipole antenna, which is remotely actuated by wireless power transfer (WPT) system are presented here. the coupled at antenna feeding point, work as new device, able harness radiated energy wirelessly transferred from an emitter directly excite mechanical vi...

We propose a mode of dynamic scanning probe microscopy based on parametric resonance for highly sensitive nanoscale imaging and force spectroscopy. In this mode the microcantilever probe is excited by means of a closed-loop electronic circuit that modulates the microcantilever stiffness at a frequency close to twice its natural resonance frequency. Under ambient conditions this parametric pumpi...

Microcantilevers are the basic MEMS devices, which can be used as sensors, actuators and electronics can be easily built into them. The detection principle of microcantilever sensors is based on the measurement of change in cantilever deflection or change in its resonance frequency. The objective of this work is to explore the analogies between mechanical and electrical equivalent of microcanti...

1,6-Hexanedithiol monolayer acts as an unusually specific recognition agent for CH3Hg+ when the microcantilever is used as the transducer; the mechanism of the sensor is discussed.