Pico-Dispensed Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Actuation of Microcantilevers: A Precise Deposition Approach

This paper presents a cost-effective and versatile pico-dispensing technique as an efficient and straightforward approach for depositing zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO-NP) thin films on micromechanical devices (MEMS). Due to its piezoelectric properties, bulk ZnO is commonly used as a material for micro-/nanocantilever actuation. The pico-dispensing process provides precise control over the deposition, allowing uniform and localized application of ZnO-NP on microcantilevers. Compared to traditional ZnO deposition techniques (e.g., sputtering or sol-gel), pico-dispensing of ZnO-NP offers advantages in simplicity, reduced material waste, and significantly lower costs. Furthermore, it is easy to tailor the composition and properties by incorporating nanoparticles of other materials. Experimental results demonstrate that ZnO-NP thin films deposited via pico-dispensing enable actuation with amplitudes of several nanometers and bandwidths up to 250 kHz, making them potentially suitable for actuation of micromechanical devices such as in dynamic AFM modes.