A submersible piezoresistive MEMS lateral force sensor for cellular biomechanics applications

A submersible lateral force sensor has been developed as part of an integrated MEMS chip for cell biomechanics experiments with forces below 100 nN. The piezoresistive elements in the sensor are defined by a single mask on an SOI wafer without the need for a doping or annealing step, and are easily integrated into other SOI MEMS. We examine the optimal design of this force sensor, as well as characterization results from fabricated devices.