Mass measurement with micromechanical single harmonic oscillators

A concept for measuring the inertial mass of analyte matter using single harmonically excited micromechanical oscillators is presented. Proof-of-concept experiments with micron-scale cantilevers demonstrated mass detection of structurally loaded gold via oscillation amplitude variations of the harmonically excited microstructures. The concept is contrasted with a conventional resonance frequency shift mass measurement technique involving frequency sweep excitations.