244 Nanosensors: Physical, Chemical, and Biological
What parameters inuence the Q-factor of a microcantilever? It depends on a
number of intrinsic (belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a
thing) and extrinsic (not a basic part or quality) parameters, such as canti-
lever constructional material, its geometrical shape, and the viscosity (the
quantity that describes a uid’s resistance to ow) of the medium in which
the cantilever is immersed. Obviously, increased damping of a microcan-
tilever oscillator by the medium translates into lower Q-factor values as
compared to the same oscillator in vacuum. Models of drag forces, surface
friction and pressure, exerted on solid bodies in uids are used to appraise
viscous damping ...