Effects of temperature and pressure on microcantilever resonance response.
Abstract The variation in resonance response of microcantilevers was investigated as a function of pressure (10 −2 –10 6 Pa) and temperature (290–390 K) in atmospheres of helium (He) and dry nitrogen (N 2 ). Our results for a silicon cantilever under vacuum show that the frequency varies in direct proportion to the temperature. The linear response is explained by the decrease in Young's modulus with increasing the temperature. However, when the cantilever is bimaterial, the response is nonlinear due to differential thermal expansion. Resonance response as a function of pressure shows three different regions, which correspond to molecular flow regime, transition regime, and viscous regime. …
Changes in surface stress, morphology and chemical composition of silica and silicon nitride surfaces during the etching by gaseous HF acid
Abstract HF acid attack of SiO2 and Si3N4 substrates is analyzed to improve the sensitivity of a sensor based on microcantilever. Ex situ analysis of the etching using XPS, SIMS and AFM show significant changes in the anisotropy and the rate of the etching of the oxides on SiO2 and Si3N4 surface. Those differences influence the kinetic evolution of the plastic bending deflection of the cantilever coated with SiO2 and Si3N4 layer, respectively. The linear dependence between the HF concentration and the Si3N4 cantilever bending corresponds to a deep attack of the layer whereas the non-linear behavior observed for SiO2 layer can be explained by a combination of deep and lateral etching. The ca…
Detection of gas trace of hydrofluoric acid using microcantilever
Abstract Microcantilevers have been used as a gas sensor in order to detect Hydrofluoric acid (HF) in the concentration range of 0.26–13 ppm. Silicon derived elements (Si 3 N 4 , SiO x ) were chosen to serve as chemical sensitive layer. Cantilever deflection and frequency shift were analyzed and compared as a function of the flow rate and the concentration of the HF molecules. The stoichiometry and roughness of the sensitive layer were found to be of major importance. Results show that the most appropriate signal at the lowest concentration ( x surface by HF. The frequency shift that is mainly governed by the loss in cantilever mass can be used at higher concentration.