TABLE OF CONTENTS The emerging field of micro and nano electromechanical (MEMS and NEMS) oscillators has fueled a renaissance in the field of resonant sensors and actuators with an unending flow of producing smaller and better electromechanical devices while providing a closely coupled link between the physical, chemical, and biological worlds. These systems have gained a wide theoretical interest and practical application in the field of sensors and actuators and have recently been adopted in valuable analytic instruments. In contrast to their macro counterparts such as quartz-crystal balances, surface-acoustic waves (SAWs), or flexural plates, they perform with increased functionality and complexity for various chemical and biological sensing applications. At the root of excitement in nanotechnology, compact electromechanical sensing devices offer a significant increase in analysis speed while suppressing the consumption of both samples and reagents. Furthermore, they can be used for a variety of different sensing purposes and offer unique possibilities by extending the dynamic range and ultimate sensitivity several orders of magnitude above those of their macro counterparts including conventional quartz-crystal oscillators. To perform their specialized functions, resonant sensors and actuators must reliably store and convert different forms of energy, transduce signals, and respond repeatably to external chemical and biological environments.
Generally, biomolecular adsorption of target analytes to functionalized regions of a cantilever-based sensor can alter mechanical stress within the oscillator and its total mass and thus influence both the bending and the natural frequency of the cantilever, respectively. Signal transduction is generally achieved by employing an optical deflection (or...
