US 7,485,100 B2
Microscopic dynamic mechanical analyzer
Michael Garcia-Webb, Cambridge, Mass. (US); Ian W. Hunter, Lincoln, Mass. (US); and Andrew J. Taberner, Lexington, Mass. (US)
Assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. (US)
Filed on Dec. 07, 2004, as Appl. No. 11/6,359.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/606327, filed on Aug. 31, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2006/0058607 A1, Mar. 16, 2006
Int. Cl. A61B 5/103 (2006.01); A61B 5/117 (2006.01); A61B 5/05 (2006.01); A61B 5/22 (2006.01); G01L 1/22 (2006.01); G01L 5/00 (2006.01); G01L 5/10 (2006.01); G01L 1/04 (2006.01); G01L 3/24 (2006.01); A63B 21/00 (2006.01); A63B 23/16 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 600—587  [600/595; 600/407; 73/862; 73/862.01; 73/862.41; 73/862.451; 73/379.01; 73/379.08] 50 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
46. A mechanical characterization apparatus, comprising:
a center magnetic pole aligned with two outer magnetic poles;
two conductive cantilevers comprising at a supported end of each cantilever, two legs electrically isolated from the poles, the legs supported opposite each other across the center pole and between the outer poles, wherein a sample zone is defined as the area between opposing faces of the cantilevers, a magnetic field produced by the center magnetic pole and outer magnetic poles having magnetic vectors in opposite directions across each leg, the sample zone adapted to receive a small sample to be analyzed;
an electric current flowing in opposite directions through the two legs, the interaction between the magnetic vectors and the electric current causing an imposed force on the two legs; and
at least one displacement sensor directed to the conductive cantilevers; and a controller that:
is electrically coupled to the legs of each cantilever to independently apply the current to each cantilever and correlate the current with the force at each cantilever; and
is coupled to the displacement sensor to independently correlate the displacement of each cantilever with the force at each cantilever; and
comprises a feedback control loop that dynamically controls the displacement of a sample in the sample zone.