title: Cantilever-based sensing: the origin of surface stress and optimization strategies.
abstract: Many interactions drive the adsorption of molecules on surfaces, all of which can result in a measurable change in surface stress. This article compares the contributions of various possible interactions to the overall induced surface stress for cantilever-based sensing applications. The surface stress resulting from adsorption-induced changes in the electronic density of the underlying surface is up to 2-4 orders of magnitude larger than that resulting from intermolecular electrostatic or Lennard-Jones interactions. We reveal that the surface stress associated with the formation of high quality alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on gold surfaces is independent of the molecular chain length, supporting our theoretical findings. This provides a foundation for the development of new strategies for increasing the sensitivity of cantilever-based sensors for various applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, 150 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada. mgodin@uottawa.ca
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Godin
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tabard-Cossa
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyahara
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Monga
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Beaulieu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruce Lennox
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grutter