Polymer microcantilever biochemical sensors with integrated polymer composites for electrical detection

Micro fabricated sensors based on nanomechanical motion with piezoresistive electrical readout have become a promising biochemical sensing tool. The conventional microcantilever materials are mostly silicon-based. The sensitivity of the sensor depends on Young's modulus of the structural material, thickness of the cantilever as well as on the gauge factor of the piezoresistor. UV patternable polymers such as SU-8 have a very low Young's modulus compared to the silicon-based materials. Polymer cantilevers with a piezoresistive material having a large gauge factor and a lower Young's modulus are therefore highly suited for sensing applications. In this work, a spin coatable and photopatternable mixture of carbon black (CB) and SU-8, with proper dispersion characteristics, has been demonstrated as a piezoresistive thin film for polymer microcantilevers. Results on percolation experiments of SU-8/CB composite and fabrication of piezoresistive SU-8 microcantilevers using this composite are presented. With our controlled dispersion experiments, we could get a uniform piezoresistive thin film of thickness less than 1.2 μm and resistivity of 2.7 Ω cm using 10 wt% of CB in SU-8. The overall thickness of the SU-8/composite/SU-8 is approximately 3 μm. We further present results on the electromechanical characterization and biofunctionalization of the cantilever structures for biochemical sensing applications. These cantilevers show a deflection sensitivity of 0.55 ppm/nm. Since the surface stress sensitivity is 4.1 × 10⁻³ [N/m]⁻¹, these cantilevers can well be used for detection of protein markers for pathological applications.     

Oscillating gravity,non-singularity and mass quantization from Moffat stochastic gravity arguments

In Moffat stochastic gravity arguments, the spacetime geometry is assumed to be a fluctuating background and the gravitational constant is a control parameter due to the presence of a time-dependent Gaussian white noise $\xi (t).$ In such a surrounding, both the singularities of gravitational collapse and the Big Bang have a zero probability of occurring. In this communication, we generalize Moffat's arguments by adding a random temporal tiny variable for a smoothing purpose and creating a white Gaussian noise process with a short correlation time. The Universe accordingly is found to be non-singular and is dominated by an oscillating gravity. A connection with a quantum oscillator was established and analyzed. Surprisingly, the Hubble mass which emerges in extended supergravity may be quantized.