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Graphene piezoresistive flexible MEMS force sensor for bi-axial micromanipulation applications

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to design, simulate, and analyze a bi-axial piezoresistive MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) force sensor, which has the capability of flexibility, high sensitivity and sensing forces in nano-Newton ranges. To achieve this, a novel combination of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as substrate material for microcantilever and graphene as piezoresistors are taken in this study. Force to be sensed is applied on the cantilever beam which generates its output in the form of displacement and by using smart piezoresistive sensing mechanism displacement is converted into corresponding voltage. Finite element analysis approach is used for designing and simulation of the proposed force sensor. The force sensitivity and stiffness are achieved as 0.566524 mV/nN and, 0.263 nN/µm in ‘y’ direction whereas 0.63039 mV/nN and, 0.039 nN/µm in ‘z’ direction, respectively. It is found in this study the stiffness of cantilever beam plays significant role in affecting the sensitivity of the sensor. The designed force sensor has ability to sense bi-axial forces and therefore suitable for microbotics and health care applications, while operating range of the sensors is ideal for a wide range of applications including microbotics, living cell handling, microassembly, nano-scale material characterization, minimal invasive surgeries and heath care applications.

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Acknowledgements

Sincere gratitude is expressed to the Multiscale Simulation research centre (MSRC), Manipal University Jaipur for providing access to the COMSOL Multiphysics® 5.3a version software. The Prof. Jagannath Korodi (Dean FOE) and Prof. Jamil Akhtar (Director SEEC) are thanked for their constant support and encouragement. One of the author (ML) would like to thank MUJ administration for providing the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science Engineering, Arya Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 303007, India

    Monica Lamba

  2. Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 303007, India

    Monica Lamba & Himanshu Chaudhary

  3. Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, FlexMEMS Research Centre (FMRC), Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 303007, India

    Kulwant Singh

  4. KYB CONMAT Pvt. Ltd., Vadodra, Gujarat, 391243, India

    Premraj Keshyep

  5. School of Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08901, USA

    Vibhor Kumar

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  1. Monica Lamba
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  2. Himanshu Chaudhary
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  3. Kulwant Singh
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  4. Premraj Keshyep
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  5. Vibhor Kumar
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Correspondence to Himanshu Chaudhary or Kulwant Singh.

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Lamba, M., Chaudhary, H., Singh, K. et al. Graphene piezoresistive flexible MEMS force sensor for bi-axial micromanipulation applications. Microsyst Technol 28, 1687–1699 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-022-05312-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-022-05312-w

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