A simultaneous sensing cum actuating microcantilever transducer for determination of single cell’s mechanical properties

Abstract

Simultaneous Sensing cum Actuating method applies a transduction matrix theory to define the measurement system which will allow an actuator to act as a sensor also. A microcantilever with a piezoelectric layer on top of it was used as transducer. Transduction functions of the transducer were predicted using ANSYS simulation and laboratory experiment. The experimental calibration was done in laboratory using a set of cantilever beams. It was found that the transduction functions differed from what were calculated using ANSYS. This might be caused by a combination of several factors such as instrumental error, the low value of piezoelectric strain coupling of ZnO material, the high loss factor of the material, and the design of the transducer itself. The microcantilever transducer was found could measure the mechanical impedance magnitude lower than 5e-06 Ns/m. It was also found that SSA can't be applied in liquid environment which disallow this method to perform test to biological cells. Some recommendation to improve sensing capability of this type of transducer was mentioned.