Fluidic applications for atomic force microscopy (AFM) with microcantilever sensors

摘要

This review presents the fundamentals of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with microcantilever probes and their use as fluidic sensors for the measurement of microanoscale transport properties. Over the last two decades, AFM has been widely used for, among other purposes, nanoscale topography, nanomechanical characterization, and intermolecular force spectroscopy. Furthermore, a microcantilever, an essential part of AFM, has been modified and exploited as a mechanical transducer for various sensing applications. Among many prospective uses, there appears to be great potential for microanoscale sensing of fluid density and viscosity (Sect. 3.1), temperature (Sect. 3.2), pressure (Sect. 3.3), and flow velocity (Sect. 3.4). These microanomechanical measurement techniques are expected to complement the advanced optical and electrical measurement techniques currently employed for microanoscale fluidic sensors and also to fill the gap between microscale and nanoscale fluidic transport property measurements.