By Nu Nano Ltd.
Dr James Bowen from The School of Engineering & Innovation at The Open University required a large bespoke set of tipless silicon cantilevers. By attaching colloid beads to the levers, they can be used for friction and adhesion analysis on nanoscale polymer liquid films e.g., in hair products. He specifically needed cantilevers significantly stiffer than those commercially available. Dr Bowen noted that “Commercial cantilevers finish their spring constants around 50 N/m but that’s where my cantilevers start from, up to 3,000 N/m, and even up to 10,000 N/m.” NuNano fabricated 40 different cantilever designs with spring constants ranging from 15 N/m to 28,000 N/m. Dr Bowen now has a toolbox of different spring constant levers which can be chosen to suit different samples such as measuring micro/nano friction on architecturally difficult surfaces. Read more about this project on our blog. “We approached NuNano with a requirement for the design and manufacture of a bespoke collection of silicon beams. We were kept informed at every stage of the project, and were delighted with the beams when they finally arrived. Not only was the project great value-for-money, the beams have transformed our ability to perform micro- and nano-mechanical characterisation of complex materials. We are planning our next project currently. We cannot recommend NuNano highly enough!” — Dr James Bowen, Open University
