First-principles surface stress calculations and multiscale deformation analysis of a self-assembled monolayer adsorbed on a micro-cantilever
Journal
Sensors (Switzerland)
Journal Volume
14
Journal Issue
4
Pages
7435-7450
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Abstract
Micro-cantilever sensors are widely used to detect biomolecules, chemical gases, and ionic species. However, the theoretical descriptions and predictive modeling of these devices are not well developed, and lag behind advances in fabrication and applications. In this paper, we present a novel multiscale simulation framework for nanomechanical sensors. This framework, combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations and finite element method (FEM) analysis, is capable of analyzing molecular adsorption-induced deformation and stress fields in the sensors from the molecular scale to the device scale. Adsorption of alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the Au(111) surface of the micro-cantilever sensor is studied in detail to demonstrate the applicability of this framework. DFT calculations are employed to investigate the molecular adsorption-induced surface stress upon the gold surface. The 3D shell elements with initial stresses obtained from the DFT calculations serve as SAM domains in the adsorption layer, while FEM is employed to analyze the deformation and stress of the sensor devices. We find that the micro-cantilever tip deflection has a linear relationship with the coverage of the SAM domains. With full coverage, the tip deflection decreases as the molecular chain length increases. The multiscale simulation framework provides a quantitative analysis of the displacement and stress fields, and can be used to predict the response of nanomechanical sensors subjected to complex molecular adsorption. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Subjects
Density functional theory; Finite element method; Micro-cantilever sensors; Multiscale modeling
SDGs
Other Subjects
Adsorption; Calculations; Density functional theory; Finite element method; Nanocantilevers; Self assembled monolayers; Sensors; Stresses; Surface properties; Deformation and stress; Displacement and stress fields; Finite element method analysis; Micro-cantilevers; Molecular adsorption; Multi-scale Modeling; Multi-scale simulation; Nanomechanical sensors; Deformation
Type
journal article