AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition
    MEMS and NEMS Thursday Sessions
       Session MN-ThM

Paper MN-ThM3
Functionalized CMOS Nanomechanical Resonators for Trace Explosives Detection

Thursday, October 21, 2010, 8:40 am, Room Santo Domingo

Session: Multi-scale Interactions of Materials at the Micro- and Nano-scale
Presenter: J.W. Baldwin, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: J.W. Baldwin, Naval Research Laboratory
J.S. Burgess, National Research Council
M. Zalalutdinov, Global Strategies Group
F.A. Bulat, Global Strategies Group
B.H. Houston, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
We used functionalized CMOS integrated Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) resonators to selectively detect specific families of analyte. Unfunctionalized resonators have femtogram sensitivity in air, but have little selectivity. To address this problem, our resonators have been functionalized with adsorbate groups (e.g. perfluoroalkane and hexafluoroisocarbonol). These groups were bound to the surface using a spatially selective process using UV hydrosilation reactions. This process allows for the functionalization of the resonator without functionalizing the whole surface, leading to increased sensitivity. These functionalized resonators showed enhanced selectivity towards target molecules. For example, the hexafluoroisocarbonol group showed selectivity towards nitrobenzene but not towards cyclohexane or water. The operation of these devices in air, functionalization methods, and limits of detection will be discussed. This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research.