IOP PUBLISHING Smart Mater. Struct.

18 (2009) 115012 (10pp)

SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES doi:10.1088/0964-1726/18/11/115012

Tip trajectories of a smart micro-cantilever beam: analysis and design

Y Chen, A J Dick and F H Ghorbel
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA E-mail: ghorbel@rice.edu

Received 21 April 2009, in nal form 1 August 2009 Published 11 September 2009 Online at stacks.iop.org/SMS/18/115012 Abstract The tip trajectories of a smart micro-cantilever beam consisting of an atomic force microscope probe with an additional segment of piezoelectric material on top of the probe are studied. A precise model with inhomogeneous partial differential equations and compatible inhomogeneous boundary conditions is developed to describe the dynamics of the smart micro-cantilever beam. The forced vibration solution of this model with respect to two independent inputs from the piezoelectric actuator and the base excitation is derived. By using this solution and the geometric relationship, the trajectory of the end of the tip is obtained from the motion of the free end of the cantilever beam. On the basis of the resonant response to harmonic inputs at the second dynamic mode, nano-scale elliptical and linear tip trajectories are predicted. Within this paper, a smart micro-cantilever beam is shown to produce nano-scale curved tip trajectories for the rst time. Analytical and simulation ndings indicate that the characteristics of the resulting trajectories are inuenced by the magnitudes of two inputs. Potential applications of the elliptical and linear trajectories for nanomanipulation are proposed. (Some gures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction
Piezoelectrics, one of the most popular smart materials, are widely utilized in sensors and actuators due to their capability of exchanging mechanical energy with electrical energy, see [1] and references therein. In many applications, piezoelectric patches or layers have been adhesively bonded to existing systems for use as distributed actuators and sensors to build smart structures [2]. A smart beam structure, which is formed by attaching piezoelectric material to a segment of a host beam, has been studied extensively. Early smart beam structures were developed for applications in space systems. Piezoelectric actuators were applied to attenuate the vibration of satellite structures [3] and to control the shape of antenna reectors on satellites [4]. Similar structures have been adapted to airplane wings and helicopter blades, in which piezoelectric patches were adopted for utter suppression [5] and gust alleviation [6], respectively. Recently, vibration control of
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smart beam structures has been applied to macro-manipulators bonded to piezostack actuators [7]. In recent years, the study of smart beam structures have been extended to the micro-scale with the development of the atomic force microscope (AFM). An AFM probe, typically consisting of a micro-cantilever beam with a sharp perpendicular tip at the free end [8], is employed as the host structure for smart micro-cantilever beams in many research efforts. In the tapping mode for nano-scale imaging, AFM probes have been excited by bonded piezoelectric-layer actuators to improve the imaging speed by increasing the bandwidth beyond that of conventional base excitations from piezotubes [9, 10]. The AFM system has also become a popular tool in nanomanipulation. Additional piezoelectric material has been applied in order to increase the stiffness of the probe and eliminate deections in order to avoid slipping over a nanowire while it is being pushed [11]. Atomic force microscope probes have also been used for sensing, where the
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