Simultaneous position and mass determination of a nanoscale-thickness cantilever sensor in viscous fluids

Abstract

We report simultaneous determination of the mass and position of micro-beads attached to a nanoscale-thickness cantilever sensor by analyzing wave propagations along the cantilever while taking into account viscous and inertial loading due to a surrounding fluid. The fluid-structure interaction was identified by measuring the change in the wavenumber under different fluid conditions. The predicted positions and masses agreed with actual measurements. Even at large mass ratios (6%-21%) of the beads to the cantilever, this wave approach enabled accurate determination of the mass and position, demonstrating the potential for highly accurate cantilever sensing of particle-based bio-analytes such as bacteria.