Highly sensitive and broadband meta-mechanoreceptor via mechanical frequency-division multiplexing

Abstract

Bio-mechanoreceptors capable of micro-motion sensing have inspired mechanics-guided designs of micro-motion sensors in various fields. However, it remains a major challenge for mechanics-guided designs to simultaneously achieve high sensitivity and broadband sensing due to the nature of resonance effect. By mimicking rat vibrissae, here we report a metamaterial mechanoreceptor (MMR) comprised of piezoelectric resonators with distributed zero effective masses featuring a broad range of local resonances, leading to near-infinite sensitivity for micro-motion sensing within a broad bandwidth. We developed a mechanical frequency-division multiplexing mechanism for MMR, in which the measured micro-motion signal is mechanically modulated in non-overlapping frequency bands and reconstructed by a computational multi-channel demodulation approach. The maximum sensitivity of MMR is improved by two orders of magnitude compared to conventional mechanics-guided mechanoreceptors, and its bandwidth with high sensitivity is extendable towards both low-frequency and high-frequency ranges in 0–12 kHz through tuning the local resonance of each individual sensing cell. The MMR is a promising candidate for highly sensitive and broadband micro-motion sensing that was previously inaccessible for mechanics-guided mechanoreceptors, opening pathways towards spatio-temporal sensing, remote-vibration monitoring and smart-driving assistance.

Mass and Stiffness Deconvolution in Nanomechanical Resonators for Precise Mass Measurement and In Vivo Biosensing

“…Recent advances in micro- and nanofabrication technologies have led to the development of increasingly smaller mechanical transducers. − These devices are capable of detecting forces, masses, mechanical properties, and motions involved in biomolecular interactions and study the principles of basic phenomena in biological processes. ,,− Hence, over the past decade, mass measurements with nanomechanical devices have systematically improved, reaching a point where they offer an intriguing capability for an innovative approach to mass spectrometry. ,− Nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) resonators, in particular, exhibit extreme sensitivity to the added mass of adsorbed particles. ,− This sensitivity has led to significant advances, including the detection of the mass of individual proteins, nanoparticles, , and large biomolecules. , Moreover, there have been demonstrations of near-atomic-scale mass resolution, , and even the probing of the mass and motion of bacteria and their reaction to antibiotics. − These advancements have set the stage for the emergence of nanoelectromechanical system-based mass spectrometry (NEMS-MS) as a crucial analytical tool in proteomics, structural biology, and nanoparticle detection. ,, …”