Team member: Zach Eichmeyer
The Vibrating Probe is a device which detects current densities by vibrating a probe about a micron in amplitude, using a piezo-electric bender/oscillator. The probe output is fed into a lock-in amplifier which allows the probe to be sampled at the same frequency as the bender. This reduces signal noise, and giving a voltage reading of max amplitude.
The Vibrating Probe is an instrument capable of measuring current densities up to 10 nA/cm2. It is most commonly used to detect current densities in biological mediums. It will be used in conjunction with other research that BEMSS is doing. The probe is the best way of getting sensitive data without disturbing the cell under test.
- Probe design
- Selecting the appropriate oscillator. Piezo-electric is most applicable
- Interfacing the osillator with the probe
- Implement pre amp in series with a lock-in amplifier
- Building the appropriate structure for implemention
- Implementing a data acquisition system Goals:
- To be able to measure current densities <100 mA/cm2
- To eliminate/control extraneous noise
- To build the appropriate test setup to implement the probe with a microscope
- Implement into current BEMSS research
- Measure current densities in other biological samples