Tailoring the mechanical properties of SU-8/clay nanocomposites: Polymer microcantilever fabrication perspective

Hao Chen, Vincent Ojijo, Hastings Cele, Trudi Joubert, Sinha Ray Suprakas, Kevin Land

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

SU-8/Clay nanocomposite is considered as a candidate material for microcantilever sensor fabrication. Organically modified montmorillonite clay nanoparticles are dispersed in the universally used negative photoresist polymer SU-8, for a low cost material, which is also biocompatible. If varying the clay loading of the composite material yields a variation of the Young's modulus, the tailored material stiffness presents an opportunity for fabrication of microcantilevers with tunable sensor sensitivity. With this microcantilever application perspective, mechanical and thermal properties of the material were investigated. SU-8/Clay nanocomposite samples were prepared with clay loadings from 1wt% - 10wt%. Tensile test results show a general trend of increase in composite modulus with an increase in the clay loading up to 7wt%, followed by a small drop at 10wt%. The composite material indeed yields moderate variation of the Young's modulus. It was also found that the thermal degradation peak of the material occurred at 300°C, which is beyond the operating temperature of typical microcantilever sensor applications. The fabrication of a custom designed microcantilever array chip with the SU-8/Clay nanocomposite material was achieved in a class 100 cleanroom, using spin-coating and photolithography microfabrication techniques. The optimization of the process for fabricating microcantilever with the SU-8/Clay nanocomposite material is discussed in this paper. The results of this research are promising for cheaper mass production of low cost disposable, yet sensitive, microcantilever sensor elements, including biosensor applications..

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSensors, MEMS, and Electro-Optical Systems
PublisherSPIE
ISBN (Print)9781628413243
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes
Event3rd South African Conference on Sensors, MEMS, and Electro-Optical Systems, SMEOS 2014 - Skukuza, South Africa
Duration: 17 Mar 201419 Mar 2014

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume9257
ISSN (Print)0277-786X
ISSN (Electronic)1996-756X

Conference

Conference3rd South African Conference on Sensors, MEMS, and Electro-Optical Systems, SMEOS 2014
Country/TerritorySouth Africa
CitySkukuza
Period17/03/1419/03/14

Keywords

  • Biosensor
  • Clay
  • MEMS
  • nanocomposite
  • polymer micro cantilever
  • SU-8

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tailoring the mechanical properties of SU-8/clay nanocomposites: Polymer microcantilever fabrication perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this