Improved V-shaped microcantilever width profile for sensing applications

In this work we have proposed an improvement in the shape of the V-shaped microcantilever by varying the width profile. In this paper we have studied the variation of resonant frequency as a function of changes in profile determined by the length of the microcantilever, keeping constant the active area for binding. It is observed that for the optimized nonlinear profile the angle at the tip is 91.41◦, more than twice the angle at the tip of the linear profile cantilever. The variation of the equivalent spring constant with changes in the profile is also studied. It is proposed that the optimum nonlinear profile cantilever has a spring constant of ∼0.39μNμm−1. The resonant frequency is obtained by using the Rayleigh–Ritz method, the deflection model and the SUGAR simulator. The results are compared and an improvement in the performance of the cantilever is observed. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)