EPSILON-SHAPED MICROCANTILEVER ASSEMBLY WITH ENHANCED DEFLECTIONS FOR SENSING, COOLING, AND MICROFLUIDIC APPLICATIONS

摘要

An assembly of microcantilever-based sensors with enhanced deflections. A deflection profile of an ε-assembly can be compared with that of a rectangular microcantilever and a modified triangular microcantilever. Various force-loading conditions can also be considered. A theorem of linear elasticity for thin beams is utilized to obtain the deflections. The obtained defections can be validated against an accurate numerical solution utilizing a finite element method with a maximum deviation of less than 10 percent. The ε-assembly produces larger deflections than the rectangular microcantilever under the same base surface stress and same extension length. Also, the ε-microcantilever assembly produces a larger deflection than a modified triangular microcantilever. The deflection enhancement increases as the ε-assembly's free length decreases for various types of force loading conditions. The ε-microcantilever can be utilized in microsensing applications to provide a favorable high detection capability with a reduced susceptibility to external noises.