Impedance-Based Force Transduction Within Fluid-Filled Parylene Microstructures

Author

Gutierrez, C.A. ; Meng, Ellis

Author_Institution

Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

20

Issue

5

fYear

2011

Firstpage

1098

Lastpage

1108

Abstract

We report on the use of electrochemical impedance (EI) as the basis for force transduction in Parylene-based microdevices. Electrolyte-filled microstructures were realized for extremely sensitive contact-force detection (10 mN range, ±0.023 mN resolution) enabled by EI-based transduction and are a promising platform for next-generation biomedical sensing technology. The design, fabrication, and characterization of Parylene-based electrochemical-MEMS (EC-MEMS) devices capable of microNewton contact-mode force measurement are presented and discussed.

Keywords

electric impedance; electrolytes; microfabrication; micromechanical devices; microsensors; EC-MEMS devices; EI-based transduction; Parylene-based electrochemical-MEMS fabrication; Parylene-based microdevices; electrochemical impedance; electrolyte-filled microstructures; fluid-filled parylene microstructures; impedance-based force transduction; microNewton contact-mode force measurement; next-generation biomedical sensing technology; sensitive contact-force detection; Electrodes; Force; Force measurement; Impedance; Materials; Probes; Surface impedance; Biomimetic; Parylene C; contact sensor; electrochemical sensing; electrochemical transduction; electrochemical-MEMS (EC-MEMS); force sensor; impedance-based sensor; liquid encapsulation; liquid impedance; mechanotransduction;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2011.2160935

Filename

5966310