Fiber-tip polymer clamped-beam probe for high-sensitivity nanoforce measurements

Mengqiang Zou; Changrui Liao; Shen Liu; Cong Xiong; Cong Zhao; Jinlai Zhao; Zongsong Gan; Yanping Chen; Kaiming Yang; Dan Liu; Ying Wang; Yiping Wang

doi:10.1038/s41377-021-00611-9

Fiber-tip polymer clamped-beam probe for high-sensitivity nanoforce measurements

Light Sci Appl. 2021 Aug 27;10(1):171. doi: 10.1038/s41377-021-00611-9.

Authors

Mengqiang Zou^{1

2}, Changrui Liao^{3

4}, Shen Liu^{1

2}, Cong Xiong^{1

2}, Cong Zhao^{1

2}, Jinlai Zhao⁵, Zongsong Gan^{6

7}, Yanping Chen^{1

2}, Kaiming Yang^{1

2}, Dan Liu^{1

2}, Ying Wang^{1

2}, Yiping Wang^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education/GuangDong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
² Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Photonic Devices and Sensing Systems for Internet of Things, Guangdong and Hong Kong Joint Research Centre for Optical Fibre Sensors, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education/GuangDong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. cliao@szu.edu.cn.
⁴ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Photonic Devices and Sensing Systems for Internet of Things, Guangdong and Hong Kong Joint Research Centre for Optical Fibre Sensors, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. cliao@szu.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
⁶ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan, 430074, China.
⁷ Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education/GuangDong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. ypwang@szu.edu.cn.
⁹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Photonic Devices and Sensing Systems for Internet of Things, Guangdong and Hong Kong Joint Research Centre for Optical Fibre Sensors, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. ypwang@szu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Micromanipulation and biological, material science, and medical applications often require to control or measure the forces asserted on small objects. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the microprinting of a novel fiber-tip-polymer clamped-beam probe micro-force sensor for the examination of biological samples. The proposed sensor consists of two bases, a clamped beam, and a force-sensing probe, which were developed using a femtosecond-laser-induced two-photon polymerization (TPP) technique. Based on the finite element method (FEM), the static performance of the structure was simulated to provide the basis for the structural design. A miniature all-fiber micro-force sensor of this type exhibited an ultrahigh force sensitivity of 1.51 nm μN^-1, a detection limit of 54.9 nN, and an unambiguous sensor measurement range of ~2.9 mN. The Young's modulus of polydimethylsiloxane, a butterfly feeler, and human hair were successfully measured with the proposed sensor. To the best of our knowledge, this fiber sensor has the smallest force-detection limit in direct contact mode reported to date, comparable to that of an atomic force microscope (AFM). This approach opens new avenues towards the realization of small-footprint AFMs that could be easily adapted for use in outside specialized laboratories. As such, we believe that this device will be beneficial for high-precision biomedical and material science examination, and the proposed fabrication method provides a new route for the next generation of research on complex fiber-integrated polymer devices.

Abstract

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