Miniaturized platform with on-chip strain sensors for compression testing of arrayed materials

Abstract

We report a microfabricated mechanical testing platform with on-chip strain sensors for in situ mechanical characterization of arrayed materials. The device is based on deformable elastomeric membranes that are actuated by pressure that is delivered through an underlying channel network. The bulging membranes compress material samples that are confined between the membranes and a rigid top-plate. Carbon nanotube-based strain sensors that exhibit strain-dependent electrical resistivity were integrated within the membranes to provide continuous read-out of membrane deflection amplitude. We used this platform to study the cyclic compression of several different silicone samples and thereby measured their elastic moduli. The results obtained using our miniaturized platform were in excellent agreement with those obtained using a commercially available mechanical testing platform and clearly demonstrated the utility of our platform for the mechanical testing of small samples in parallel. The miniaturized platform can significantly increase mechanical testing efficiency, particularly when testing of iterative sample formulations is required.