2011 4th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Informatics (BMEI)

A Novel Piezoelectric Device with Dual Functions of Studying Biological Soft Tissues
Fei Xie, Avin Jamadagni, and Zhili Hao
Department of Mechanical Engineering Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA USA 23529
AbstractThis paper presents a novel piezoelectric device with dual functions of studying soft biological tissues. The device consists of a central circular plate and a set of flexural beams. The flexural beams are partially covered with piezoelectric layer for integrated transduction. It can function as a force sensor for measuring the mechanical behavior of a tissue sample and a load applier for mimicking physiological loads experienced by the tissue sample in vivo, while the mechanical behavior can be visually observed under a microscope simultaneously. By combining the classic theories in solid mechanics and piezoelectricity, the performance of the piezoelectric device is analyzed. Based on the mechanical behavior obtained from traditional experimental studies on cartilage, the piezoelectric device is designed and optimized for studying cartilage at the micro/nano-scale. The fabrication process for the piezoelectric device is also discussed. Keywords-piezoelectric material; SOI wafer; Cartilage; force sensor;load applier

and structure of ECM, in response to its local mechanical field and biochemical factors [6]. A few experimental techniques at the traditional-scale have been well established to study the mechanical properties of cartilage [7]. To develop a better understanding of how the local mechanical field affects the mechanical behavior of a chondrocyte, this work is aimed to develop a piezoelectric device that is capable of studying the mechanical behavior of a chondrocyte with its neighboring ECM, and applying physiological loads to hydrogel embedded with chondrocytes for stimulating the ECM growth. In this paper, we present a novel piezoelectric device with dual functions of studying soft biological tissue samples at the micro/nano-scale. On one hand, this device can function as a force sensor to probe the mechanical behavior of cartilage samples of different sizes and chondrocytes. On the other hand, the piezoelectric device can also work as a load applier to apply physiological loads to tissue samples. This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the configuration and working principle of the device. Then, the detailed designs of this device functioning as a force sensor and as a load applier are presented in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. The fabrication process for implementing the designed device is discussed in Section 5. 2. DEVICE CONFIGURATION AND WORKING PRINCIPLE Fig. 1 illustrates the configuration of a novel piezoelectric device with dual functions for studying soft biological tissues at the micro/nano-scale. This device consists of a central circular plate and a set of flexural beams that are orthogonal to each other. The structural layer of the device is silicon and the piezoelectric layer is on the top of the structural layer and is sandwiched between two very thin metal layers (each is 100nm thick) for establishing electrical field in the piezoelectric layer along the out-of-plane direction. The whole device is fixed to the substrate (not shown in the figure) at the four anchors. The flexural beams is partially covered with piezoelectric layer for achieving integrated transduction, thus eliminating the need of visually obtaining the displacement of this device during probing a tissue sample under a microscope. Hence, the microscope is spared for best visually observing the mechanical behavior of the tissue sample.

1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, studies of biomechanics at the micro/nanoscale have been greatly facilitated by MEMS technology [1]. In particular, various MEMS-based devices have been developed for studying cell mechanics. For instance, a force sensor is developed to probe the force generated by a single cell fixed on a substrate [2]. Micropillars or microposts are developed to measure the contraction force of cells [3]. AFM is employed to study the mechanical response of a single cell and its associated cell-matrix [4]. MEMS chips are also developed to provide electrical stimuli to biological tissues [5]. However, the majority of the MEMS devices developed so far for studying mechanical response of cells are passive in the sense that the exact mechanical response of a cell is obtained by observation of the displacement of the MEMS device under a microscope. This, in turn, prevents the microscope from being used to best visually observe the mechanical behavior of a cell in response to probing of a MEMS device. Cartilage, as a load-bearing soft tissue, is extremely sensitive to its surrounding mechanical environment. Cartilage mainly comprises of chondrocytes and extracellular matrix (ECM). Chondrocytes regulate and maintain the composition

978-1-4244-9352-4/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

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R L1 L hsi hm1 hp

(a) Force sensor

piezoelectric device functioning as a force sensor. Since the piezoelectric device is symmetric about its center and all four beams in the device are identical, a free-body diagram of one flexural beam is drawn in Fig. 2 for predicting the charge output in response to the force at the central plate. For simplicity, the existence of two thin metal layers is neglected. The length of the silicon structural layer is L, while the length of the piezoelectric layer on top of the silicon layer is L1. The thickness of the silicon and piezoelectric layers is denoted by hsi and hp, respectively. In this free-body diagram, one end of the beam is fixed at the anchor, while the other end of the beam is subject to a force, F, from the tissue sample and its slope is kept zero. The support reactions at the fixed end of the beam consist of a vertical force, F/4, and a clockwise bending moment, FL/8. FL/8 L1 hp hsi F/4 o L x Central plate F

L1 L

R hsi

hm1

Figure 2. Free-body diagram of one flexural beam partially covered with piezoelectric thin film (out of proportion for clear illustration)

(b) Load applier

Figure 1. Schematic view of a novel piezoelectric device with dual functions for studying soft biological tissues

The flexural beam consists two segments: the first segment containing two layers is treated as a composite beam and the second segment has one silicon layer. Treated as a composite beam, the first segment has a transformation factor, n=Ep/Esi, its neutral axis from the bottom of the silicon layer is calculated as [8]:
h hsi hsi w si + + hsi wh p n 2 2 hsi w + h p nw

When this piezoelectric device functions as a force sensor (Fig. 1(a)), the piezoelectric layer covers half of the length of the flexural beams for optimal performance. First, its central plate is brought in contact with a tissue sample using a micromanipulator. Second, the device is moved against the tissue sample by certain distance controlled by the manipulator. Then, the central plate will generate a deflection relative to the anchors. This deflection will be measured by monitoring the charge output of the device. Then, the mechanical behavior of the tissue sample can be extracted using the measured deflection. When the piezoelectric device functions as a load applier (Fig. 1(b)), the piezoelectric layers covers two thirds of the length of the flexural beams for optimal performance. Again, it will be brought in contact with the tissue sample first. Then, a voltage is applied to the top and bottom metal layers and the central plate should be deflected. Since the tissue sample located right underneath the plate is in the way of the deflection of the plate, a load is exerted on the tissue sample by the plate. Both static and dynamic loads can be applied on a tissue sample, using either a DC voltage or an ac voltage. 3. FUNCTIONING AS A FORCE SENSOR In this section, we derive the relations between the force, the deflection of the central plate, and the charge output for the

y=

(1)

where w denote the width of the flexural beam. Accordingly, the moment of inertia of the first segment is written as:

I = 1

wh

3 +n

si 12

wh

3 p 2

12

2 hp h si y + wh + wnh + h y si p 2 si 2

(2)

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as:

The moment of inertia for the second segment is expressed

3 whsi I2 = 12

k = 4E si I 2

(3)

5LL2 L2 L 2 3 5L3 5L 3 5LL 2 1+ 1 1 L L1 + L 1 + I 2 1 16 48 24 I1 8 8 24 16

(8)

The bending moment at a distance, x, from the fixed end is expressed as:

Now, we derive the charge output from the deflection of the device. The constitutive equations in intensive form of piezoelectric field are defined by:

M =

FL Fx 8 4

(4)

S1 = s1 T1 + d31 E3
(9b)

(9a)

D3 = d31 T1 + E3

Then, the governing equations for the first segment (0x1L1) are written as:

dy Fx 2 FL 1 E I = x 1 si 1 dx 8 1 8 1

(5a)

where S1 and T1 are the strain and stress in the x-direction of the beam; D3 and E3 are the electrical displacement (charge/area) and electrical filed across the piezoelectric film in the y-direction. s1, d31, and are the x-axis compliance, transverse piezoelectric coefficient, and permitivity of the film, respectively. The normal stress in the piezoelectric thin film along the xaxis is written as:

3 FL 2 Fx1 E I y = x si 1 1 16 1 24

(5b)

Note that the boundary conditions at the fixed end: x1=0:

y1=0, dy1/dx1=0, have been used.

As to the second segment (L1x2L), the governing equation for the slope and the deflection are written as:

h M p = + h y n si I1 2

(10)

Substituting the above equation into (9b) gives rise to the charge output from the beam is calculated as:

dy Fx 2 FL E I 2 = x 2 +c si 2 dx 1 8 2 8 2

Q = L1 d wdx 0 31
(6a)

d FL = 31 1 8 I1

1+ + hsi y L L1 n 2 1 2 hp

(11)

3 FL 2 Fx1 E I y = x +c x +c si 1 1 16 1 1 2 2 24

(6b)

The sensitivity of the charge output to the force input is calculated as:

where c1 and c2 are two constants that need to be determined by the compatibility conditions at x=L1, where the two segments have the same deflection and the slope, the two constants in (6a) and (6b) can be determined. Consequently, the deflection of the central plate due to the force is calculated as:
= F E si I 2

d L = 31 1 QF 8 I1

hp 1+ + hsi y (L L1 )n (12) 2 2 1

The above theoretical derivation is verified using the numerical simulation in COMSOL. Furthermore, from both the theoretical derivation and the numerical simulation, it is found that when the length of the piezoelectric layer is half of that of the whole flexural beam, the sensitivity of the charge output to the force input is maximized.

5LL2 2 L2 L 3 5L3 5L 3 5LL 2 1 L L1 + L 1 + I 2 1+ 1 1 16 24 8 48 I1 8 24 16

4.

FUNCTIONING AS A LOAD APPLIER

(7)

Then, the stiffness of the piezoelectric device is written as:

When this piezoelectric device is employed as a load applier, a DC or AC voltage needs to be applied to it. Fig. 3 shows the free-body diagram of a flexural beam of the piezoelectric device. The left end of the beam is fixed, meaning that both deflection and slope at the left end are zero. Due to the symmetry of the whole device about the center of the device, the slope at the right end of the beam is kept zero. A voltage is applied across the piezoelectric layer.

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Consequently, the central plate will move downward following the deflection of the beams caused by the applied voltage. To prevent the deflection of the central plate, a force must be generated on the central plate by the tissue sample that is located underneath the central plate. Accordingly, the force on the tissue sample applied by the piezoelectric device is equivalent to the product of the stiffness of the beams and the deflection at the ends connecting to the central plate.

si 2 4 si p 3 K = (s11 ) (h p ) + 4s11s11hsi (h p ) p 2 si p 2 2 si p 3 4 + 6s11s11(hsi ) (h p ) + 4s11s11h p (hsi ) + (s11 ) (hsi ) (13e)

Therefore, the deflection and the slope at the right end of the beam, x=L, is written as:

L1 V o L x

hp hsi =0 M

I = p + p (L L1 ) I = p

(14a) (14b)

Case II: The bending moment, M, at the right end of the beam leads to a deflection at the right end of the beam, x=L:

Figure 3. Free-body diagram of one flexural beam of the piezoelectric device with an applied voltage between the top and bottom surfaces of the piezoelectric layer

Now, we derive the relation between the voltage input and the force output. The flexural beam in Fig. 3 is subject to two external loads: one is the load in the piezoelectric layer and the other is a bending moment at the end of the beam, which results from the tissue sample. We analyze two cases: Case I: the flexural beam is subject to the load in the piezoelectric layer and Case II: the flexural beam is subject to the bending moment. Then the overall performance of the device is obtained using the superposition principle. Case I: For a cantilever-type piezoelectric device consisting of a silicon thick structural layer and piezoelectric transduction layer covering the whole length of the structural layer, the deflection p and the slope p at the end of the cantilever, x=L1, is calculated as [9]:

II =

2 I2 2 1 2 + L1 1 L + L1 L 2E si I 2 I1
M

I 2

I1

(15)

Based on the compatibility condition that the slope at the right end is equal to zero, the bending moment can be expressed in terms of the slope generated by the applied voltage in case I:

M =

I L1 2 1 + L I 1

E si I 2

(16)

Consequently, the deflection at the right end of the beam is written as:

p = A 3 d31 B L1 p = A 6 d 31 B L1
V

2V K

(13a)

II

p 2

(13b)

I L1 2 1 + L I 1

(17)

where A, B, and K are constants related to the dimension of the device and the physical properties of the materials used [9]:

2 I2 I 2 1 2 + L1 1 2 L + L1 L I I 1 1
Now, according to the superposition principle, the deflection at the right end of the beam caused by the applied voltage and the bending moment from the central plate is expressed as (18), at the bottom of this page.

A = s si 11 s p 11 s p 11h
B= h s
p si

si

+ s si 11h

si

11

(h
si

+h p + s si 11 h
si

)
si

(13c) (13d)

I I V 1 2 L2 + L L 2 1 2 + L = 3ABd 31 L1 1 2 ( L + 2 L2 ) + 1 1 I I I K 1 1 2 1 L 1 + L 1 I 1

(18)

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Based on the theoretical derivation and numerical simulation, the optimal length of the piezoelectric layer is approximately two thirds of the length of the silicon structural layer. 5 FABRICATION PROCESS A four-mask fabrication process for implementing the design of the piezoelectric device is illustrated in Fig. 4. It requires four masks. This process starts with a SOI wafer, which is blank-deposited with a 100nm-thick molybdenum layer and a 0.5m-thick piezoelectric layer.

patterned using a DRIE process with the fourth mask. Following this, the buried silicon dioxide layer is etched to release the piezoelectric device. This device is currently under fabrication. 6 CONCLUSION
A novel piezoelectric device with dual functions for studying biological soft tissues at the micro/nano-scale has been presented in this paper. The important relations between the input and output of the device are presented in great details. The fabrication process is proposed and the device is currently under development. Based on the mechanical behavior obtained from traditional experimental studies on cartilage, the piezoelectric device is designed and optimized for studying cartilage at the micro/nano-scale. In the future, we will characterize the fabricated device and use it to probe cartilage samples.

(a) Patterning top electrodes with the 1st mask

REFERENCES [1] [2] [3]

K.J. Van Vliet, G. Bao, S. Suresh, The biomechanics toolbox: experimental approaches for living cells and biomolecules, Acta Materialia Vol. 51, 2003, pp. 58815905. Shengyuan Yang and Taher Saif, Micromachined force sensors for the study of cell mechanics, Review of Scientific Instruments Vol. 76, 044301 2005. Yi Zhao, Chee Chew Lim, Douglas B. Sawyer, Ronglih Liao, Xin Zhang, Microchip for subcellular mechanics study in living cells, Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 114, 2006, pp.11081115. B. Lee, L. Han, E. H. Frank, S. Chubinskaya, C. Ortiz, A. J. Grodzinsky, Dynamic mechanical properties of the tissue-engineered matrix associated with individual chondrocytes, Journal of Biomechanics, Vol. 43, 2010, 469-476. Yi Zhao, Xin Zhang, Cellular mechanics study in cardiac myocytes using PDMS pillars array, Sensors and Actuators A, Vol.125, 2006, pp. 398404. Farshid Guilak, Van C. Mow, The mechanical environment of the chondrocyte: a biphasic finite element model of cell-matrix interactions in articular cartilage, Journal of Biomechanics Vol. 33, 2000, pp. 16631673. V. C. Mow, S. C. Kuei, W. M. Lai, C. G. Armstrong, Biphasic Creep and Stress Relaxation of Articular Cartilage in Compression: Theory and Experiments, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Vol. 102, Feb. 1980, pp. 73-84. R.C. Hibbeler, Mechanics of Materials, seventh edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2008. Jan G. Smits, The Constituent Equations of Piezoelectric Heterogeneous Bimorphs, IEEE Transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control, vol. 38. No.3 May 1991.

(b) Patterning bottom electrodes with the 2nd mask

[4]

[5] [6] (c) Patterning the device with the 3rd mask

[7]

[8] [9] (d) Releasing the device with the 4th mask Si SiO2 AIN Mo

Figure 4. The fabrication process of the piezoelectric device

With the first mask, a second 100nm-thick molybdenum layer is deposited on top of the piezoelectric layer and is patterned to form top electrodes using a lift-off process. Then, the piezoelectric layer is wet etched with the second mask so that the ground electrodes are exposed for electrical connection. With the third mask, the device is defined with a sequence of dry etching processes for etching the piezoelectric layer, the bottom molybdenum layer, and the device layer. Finally, the SOI wafer is turned over so that the handle layer is

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