Resonance Frequency Tuning and Process Design of a Micromechanical Capacitive Cantilever in a Photoacoustic Trace-Gas Sensing Device

Inhalt:
Photoacoustic spectroscopy is an efficient method to detect the concentration of trace gases with following advantages: short response time, high sensitivity, continuous and real-time monitoring and the option of miniaturization without the need of complex mirror-based multi-pass cell designs. A micromechanical cantilever is used as a key component in a two-part “Cantilever-Resonator” system that detects the weak photoacoustic signal. The resonance frequency of cantilever needs to be tuned to match the resonance frequency of resonator in order to achieve the maximum vibration amplitude of the “Cantilever-Resonator” system. This paper reports a post-fabrication method to tune the resonance frequency of cantilevers via focused ion beam (FIB) and a capacitive solution for the cantilever to transform the acoustic signal to electrical signal.