Fiber-Integrated Force Sensor using 3D Printed Spring-Composed Fabry-Perot Cavities with a High Precision Down to...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology and Microsystems Engineering
• Optical Sensing and Metrology

Background:

• Piconewton-scale force measurement is critical for diverse scientific and engineering fields.
• Existing micro/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) for force sensing face challenges including high cost, complex detection, and electromagnetic interference.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate novel, general fiber-integrated force sensors with high force resolution at the microscale.
• To demonstrate the capability of these sensors for precise force measurements and airflow distribution analysis.

Main Methods:

• Development of 3D-printed, fiber-integrated force sensors utilizing spring-composed Fabry-Perot cavities.
• Calibration of the microscale sensors using silica particles of varying diameters as standard weights.
• Measurement of non-linear airflow force distributions from a micro-nozzle.

Main Results:

• Achieved force sensitivity of (0.436 ± 0.007) nN/nN and a resolution of (40.0 ± 0.7) pN, representing the best resolution for fiber-based nanomechanical probes.
• Successfully measured non-linear airflow force distributions from a 2 μm orifice nozzle, showing good agreement with simulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D-printed fiber-integrated force sensors provide unprecedented resolution and sensitivity for microscale force measurements.
• These easy-to-use sensors have broad applicability in areas such as turbulence sensing, micro-manipulation, and biological sensing, with potential for further customization.