A novel technique of microforce sensing and loading

作者：Li Xide^*; Su Dongchuan; Zhang Zhao

来源：Sensors and Actuators A: Physical , 2009, 153(1): 13-23.

DOI：10.1016/j.sna.2009.04.012

• Force sensor
• Calibration
• Probe
• Cantilever deflection
• Mechanical behavior

With remarkable reduction of the characteristic scales in researches of materials and Structures, microforce sensing and loading is becoming an important and challenging issue in mechanical tests. Oil the one hand, Miniaturization of the tested objects leads to serious problems of manipulating grasping, and loading. On the other hand, the smaller sample is, the smaller the forces have to be measured. Up to now. it is still a difficult task to measure Such small forces. In this paper, a newly developed probe-type microforce sensor is described, which can be combined with a micromanipulator to perforin microforce sensing and loading. A strategy call ladder or hierarchy force sensing and loading method is further suggested, by which the above combined system is used as a platform to calibrate other cantilever probes with finer resolutions, which may form a sequence of probe-type sequence microforce sensors to cover a broad range of forces to be measured front mN down to nN and even lower provided that proper spring constants are selected for these force sensors. In the preliminary Studies, two probe-type microforce sensors are successfully developed with force sensing sensitivities of 705.4 nN/mV and 37.3 nN/mV. respectively. They are applied to calibrate atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers with Various spring constants. and then one of these calibrated cantilevers is used as a more sensitive force sensor to calibrate other even softer cantilevers. Tests of real microscale objects, a single silk filament and a papilla oil the lotus leaf surface, demonstrate excellent performance of the developed sensors.

• 出版日期2009-6-25
• 单位清华大学