This book is intended for scientists and engineers in the field of
micro- and nano- electro-mechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) and
introduces the development of cantilever-based sensor systems using
CMOS-compatible micromachining from the design concepts and simulations
to the prototype. It is also a useful resource for researchers on
cantilever sensors and resonant sensors in general The reader will
become familiar with the potential of the combination of two
technological approaches: IC fabrication technology, notably CMOS
technology, and silicon micromachining and the resulting microstructures
such as cantilever beams. It was recognized early that these two
technologies should be merged in order to make the microstructures smart
and devise integrated microsystems with on-chip driving and signal
conditioning circuitry - now known as CMOS MEMS or, with the arrival of
nanostructures, CMOS NEMS. One way to achieve the merger is the
post-processing micro- or nano- machining of finished CMOS wafers, some
of which is described in this book. The book introduces this approach
based on work carried out at the Physical Electronics Laboratory of ETH
Zurich on arrays of cantilever transducers with on-chip driving and
signal conditioning circuitry. These cantilevers are familiar from
Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) and allow the sensitive detection of
phys- ical quantities such as forces and mass changes. The book is
divided into three parts. First, general aspects of cantilever resona-
tors are introduced, e. g. their resonant behavior and possible driving
and sensing mechanisms.
