DESIGN OF A BASIC PIEZORESISTIVE MICROCANTILEVER BIOSENSOR

Abstract

Microcantilevers are one of the basic micromechanical structures. They are fixed at one ends and the other ends can move freely like a diving board. Their sizes are in the micrometer and nanometer ranges. Microcantilevers are called microcantilever sensors when their surfaces are functionalized to detect specific molecules. Since these sensors have offered remarkable possibilities in detection, they have been used in many fields such as clinical diagnosis, drug screening and pathogen detection. In the microcantilever sensors, various detection methods are available such as piezoresistive, optical, capacitive and piezoelectric. Each sensing method holds own advantages and disadvantages. By the advantage of allowing integration of the read-out electronics on the same chip, piezoresistive detection becomes prominent. So piezoresistive detection is chosen in this work and a basic piezoresistive microcantilever biosensor design is introduced. Furthermore, by making geometrical alterations on microcantilever and piezoresistive layer, effects of these variations upon sensitivity, vertical displacement and change in resistance are investigated. Additionally, effects of different shaped holes upon sensor are studied.

Keywords

• Microcantilever
• piezoresistive detection
• biosensor.

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18. Ibrahim Ethem SACU was born in Kayseri, Turkey. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from the Erciyes University in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Since 2010, he has been a member of academic staff with Erciyes University, Engineering Faculty, Biomedical
19. Dept., Kayseri, Turkey. His current research interests include medical electronics, biosensors and circuit design. Mustafa ALCI was born in Kayseri, Turkey, in 1957. He graduated at the Electronic Dept. of the Technology Faculty, Gazi University, Ankara, in 1979. Then he received the B.Sc. degree from Erciyes University, Kayseri, in 1983, M.Sc. degree from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, in 1986 and Ph.D. degree from Erciyes University, Kayseri, in 1989, respectively, all in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Since 1979, he is a member of academic staff with Erciyes University
20. Engineering Faculty, Electronic Engineering Dept., Kayseri, Turkey. His current research interests include image processing, noise and coding artifacts suppression, fuzzy systems, medical electronics, chaotic systems and circuit design.