Piezoresistive microcantilever sensors for the detection of viruses, pathogens, and trace chemical gasses, with appropriate measurement and signal processing methods, can be a powerful instrument with high speed and sensitivity, with in situ and real-time capabilities. This paper discusses a novel method for mass sensing on the order of a few femtograms, using a dual-microcantilever piezoresistive sensor with a vibrating common base. The two microcantilevers have controllably shifted natural frequencies with only one of them being active. Two active piezoresistors are located on the surfaces of each of the two flexures, which are specifically connected in a Wheatstone bridge with two more equivalent passive resistors located on the sensor base. A dedicated experimental system measures the voltages of the two half-bridges and, after determining their amplitude–frequency responses, finds the modulus of their differences. The modified amplitude–frequency response possesses a cusp point which is a function of the natural frequencies of the microcantilevers. The signal processing theory is derived, and experiments are carried out on the temperature variation in the natural frequency of the active microcantilever. Theoretical and experimental data of the temperature–frequency influence and equivalent mass with the same impact are obtained. The results confirm the sensor’s applicability for the detection of ultra-small objects, including early diagnosis and prediction in microbiology, for example, for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, other viruses, and pathogens. The versatile nature of the method makes it applicable to other fields such as medicine, chemistry, and ecology.

In this paper, the impact of Lorentz forces and temperature on the natural frequencies of a piezoresistive sensor composed of two microcantilevers with integrated U-shaped thin-film aluminum heaters are investigated. Two types of experiments were performed. In the first, the sensor was placed in a magnetic field so that the current flowing in the heater, in addition to raising the temperature, produced Lorentz forces, inducing normal stresses in the plane of one of the microcantilevers. In the second, which were conducted without magnetic fields, only the temperature variation of the natural frequency was left. In processing of the results, the thermal variations were subtracted from the variations due to both Lorentz forces and temperature in the natural frequency, resulting in the influence of the Lorentz forces only. Theoretical relations for the Lorentz frequency offsets were derived. An indirect method of estimating the natural frequency of one of the cantilevers, through a particular cusp point in the amplitude–frequency response of the sensor, was used in the investigations. The findings show that for thin microcantilevers with silicon masses on the order of 4 × 10⁻⁷ g and currents of 25 µA, thermal eigenfrequency variations are dominant. The results may have applications in the design of similar microsensors with vibrational action.

This paper discusses a new method and sensor for the detection of ultra-low masses, such as those of viruses and biomarkers. The sensor contains three microcantilevers with a common substrate that vibrates. The detection method processes phase-shifted signals from Wheatstone bridges from connected piezoresistors formed on the vibrating microcantilevers and passive resistors on the rigid substrate. Each microcantilever has a gold pad that can be either active or passive. When a mass is detected, the shape of the amplitude–frequency response changes. The proposed method has high mass sensitivity and can respond up to one minute, which is an important challenge for nanocantilever sensors.

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of the amplitude–frequency response of a triple-microcantilever system designed for real-time ultra-low mass detection. The present study focuses on the unfunctionalized configuration to clarify the intrinsic electromechanical behavior of this system. Starting with analytical expressions, output voltage amplitude–frequency responses are derived for a Wheatstone-bridge-based readout circuit and used to analyze the relationship between the resonant frequencies and mechanical amplitude–frequency responses of the three microcantilevers and the resulting electrical response. The extrema and zero-crossing points of the output voltage do not trivially coincide with the individual resonance peaks or their intersection points; this offers more freedom for defining strong detection criteria. A specialized experimental setup has been developed and used to measure the frequency response of a fabricated triple-microcantilever prototype; good agreement with the theoretical predictions has been found within the operating range. Initial humidification tests confirm the high sensitivity of the microsystem against small added masses, corresponding to an estimated detection limit on the order of 10⁻¹⁶ kg for the unfunctionalized device. In this way, the present work confirms the validity of the proposed triple-microcantilever configuration for ultra-low mass sensing and outlines its potential for future application in pathogen detection upon surface functionalization.