Investigation of quasi lateral-field-excitation on (yxl)-17° LiNbO3 single crystal

Lateral field excited quartz crystal microbalances for biosensing applications

The most common bulk acoustic wave device used in biosensing applications is the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), in which a resonant pure shear acoustic wave is excited via electrodes on both major faces of a thin AT-cut quartz plate. For biosensing, the QCM is used to detect the capture of a target by a target-capture film. The sensitivity of the QCM is typically based solely on the detection of mechanical property changes, as electrical property change detection is limited by the electrode on its sensing surface. A modification of the QCM called the lateral field excited (LFE) QCM (LFE-QCM) has been developed with a bare sensing surface as both electrodes are now on a single face of the quartz plate. Compared to the QCM, the LFE-QCM exhibits significantly higher sensitivity to both electrical and mechanical property changes. This paper presents theoretical and experimental aspects of LFE-QCMs. In particular, the presence and strength of the usual and newfound LFE-QCM modes depend on the electrical properties of the film and/or sensing environment. This work also presents examples of experimental setups for measuring the response of an LFE-QCM, followed by results of LFE-QCMs used to detect liquid electrical and mechanical properties, chemical targets, and biological targets. Finally, details are given about the attachment of various target-capture films to the LFE-QCM surface to capture biomarkers associated with diseases such as cancer.

Probing the electrical impedance of thin films on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), making use of frequency shifts and piezoelectric stiffening

Using a temperature-responsive polymer film as an example, it was shown that a conventional quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) can probe a sample's electrical properties in addition to its thickness and softness. The film's electrical impedance was accessed by alternating between the driving voltage being applied to the front electrode and the back electrode. The opposing electrode was grounded in both cases. In the first configuration, the electrical properties of the sample do have an influence on the resonance frequency because of piezoelectric stiffening. In the second, they do not. Using this scheme, it was monitored how the electrical impedance of a film composed of a mixture of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide and polyvinylalcohol changes when the film swells and deswells.