Multimode excitation of a metal organics frameworks coated microbeam for smart gas sensing and actuation

Smart sensing systems suffer complexity requiring interface circuits, microcontrollers, switches, and actuators to detect and sense, process the signal and take a decision, and trigger an action upon demand. This increases the device footprint and boosts significantly the power required to actuate the system. Here, we present a hybrid sensor and switch device, which is capable of accurately measuring gas concentration and perform switching when the concentration exceeds specific (safe) threshold. The device is based on a clamped-clamped microbeam coated with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Using the electrostatic harmonic voltage, we employ dynamic multi-modal actuation in which the microbeam is simultaneously excited at the first mode of vibration, near the pull-in band, and at the third mode. We demonstrate experimentally the effectiveness of this technique in measuring the concentration of water vapor and achieving switching when the concentration exceeds a threshold value. In contrast to the first mode operation, we show that monitoring the third mode enhances sensitivity, improves accuracy, and lowers the sensor sensitivity to noise.