Thermal Characterization and Temperature Control of Piezoresistive Microcantilevers

Chemical sensing at low detection limits requires temperature control of the measurement platform. Knowledge of heat transfer coefficients (h_eff) in the domain of operation is essential for such control. Thermal characterization of a piezoresistive microcantilever was performed and h_eff for steady-state operation were obtained. A finite difference model was used to model behavior at higher frequencies of upto 1 kHz and average h_eff was estimated. A reduction in h_eff over steady-state values is seen at higher frequencies.