The effect of piezoresistive microcantilever geometry on cantilever sensitivity during surface stress chemical sensing

We have designed, fabricated, and tested five piezoresistive cantilever configurations to investigate the effect of shape and piezoresistor placement on the sensitivity of microcantilevers under both point loading and surface stress loading. The experimental study reveals that: (1) high aspect ratio cantilevers that are much longer than they are wide are optimal for point-loading applications such as microscopy and force measurements; (2) low aspect ratio cantilevers that are short and wide are optimal for surface stress-loading scenarios such as those that occur in biological and chemical sensor applications. The sensitivity data for both point loads and surface stress are consistent with previously developed finite-element models.