3D Printed Metallic Pillar Nanomechanical Resonators Decorated with TiO2 Nanotubes for Highly Sensitive Environmental Applications

Abstract

Micro and nanomechanical devices offer enhanced sensing capabilities for detecting biological and chemical small molecules. However, miniaturization necessitates advanced fabrication processes and complex measurement systems, hindering routine sensor analysis. While alternative methods like 3D printing show promise, challenges such as low device resolution persist due to intrinsic damping of polymer inks. In this study, an array of micrometric pillar resonators is fabricated in Ti6Al4 V alloy using additive manufacturing based on laser powder bed fusion technology. These metallic nanomechanical resonators exhibit a very high quality factor with minimal difference between air and vacuum measurements due to low intrinsic damping. Furthermore, titania nanotubes grown on the pillars via anodic oxidation heighten sensitivity for molecular dye degradation evaluation. Leveraging the weak coupling phenomenon among the pillars in the array, these devices facilitate large-scale parallelized measurements, here demonstrated with real-time analysis of dye degradation process. This approach to creating mass sensing devices via metallic additive manufacturing can usher in a new generation of highly performing resonating sensor arrays, offering a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional silicon microfabrication methods.