Attractive forces on hard and soft colloidal objects located close to the surface of an acoustic-thickness shear resonator

Studying Soft Interfaces with Shear Waves: Principles and Applications of the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)

The response of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM, also: QCM-D for "QCM with Dissipation monitoring") to loading with a diverse set of samples is reviewed in a consistent frame. After a brief introduction to the advanced QCMs, the governing equation (the small-load approximation) is derived. Planar films and adsorbates are modeled based on the acoustic multilayer formalism. In liquid environments, viscoelastic spectroscopy and high-frequency rheology are possible, even on layers with a thickness in the monolayer range. For particulate samples, the contact stiffness can be derived. Because the stress at the contact is large, the force is not always proportional to the displacement. Nonlinear effects are observed, leading to a dependence of the resonance frequency and the resonance bandwidth on the amplitude of oscillation. Partial slip, in particular, can be studied in detail. Advanced topics include structured samples and the extension of the small-load approximation to its tensorial version.

Steady flows above a quartz crystal resonator driven at elevated amplitude

A steady flow of liquid was observed above the surface of a quartz crystal microbalance under conditions where the oscillation amplitude exceeded 10 nm. The streaming flow occurs parallel to the displacement vector and is directed towards the center of the plate. It is expected to have applications in acoustic sensing, in microfluidics, and in micromechanics in a wider sense. The flow is caused by the nonlinear term in the Navier-Stokes equation, which can produce a nonzero time-averaged force from a periodic velocity field. Central to the explanation are the flexural admixtures to the resonator's mode of vibration. Unlike pressure-driven flows, the acoustically driven steady flow attains its maximum velocity at a distance of a few hundred nanometers from the surface. It is therefore efficient in breaking bonds between adsorbed particles and the resonator surface. As a side aspect, the flow pattern amounts to a diagnostic tool, which gives access to the pattern of vibration. In particular, it leads to an estimate of the magnitude of the flexural admixtures to the thickness-shear vibration.