DETERMINING SPRING STIFFNESS BY THE RESONANCE FREQUENCY OF CANTILEVERED PIEZOELECTRIC BIMORPHS

The dynamic behavior of a bimorph clamped at one end and constrained b y a linear spring at the other end was studied, The fundamental resona nce frequency of the bimorph increased by an amount related to the spr ing stiffness when compared to the case where the end was free, Theref ore, a cantilever bimorph provides a technique to assess the stiffness of a material by a simple measurement of the resonant frequency, Sinc e the bimorph behavior is determined in part by its geometry, the devi ce can be designed for mechanical measurement of microscopic systems s uch as living cells.