Chip quartz oscillator and liquid-phase sensor

• US 20040051595A1
• Filed: 10/01/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB (General Electric Company), Yoshio Okahata
• Original Assignee: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB (General Electric Company)
• Inventors: Yoshimine, Hiroshi, Sota, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,045,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 331/158
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0256 Adsorption, desorption, surface mass change, e.g. on biosensors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/036 by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H03B 5/32 being a piezoelectric resonator selection of piezoelectric material H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03B 5/36 active element in amplifier being semiconductor device H03B5/323, H03B5/326 , H03B5/38 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/0547 consisting of a vertical arrangement H03H9/0566 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/19 consisting of quartz

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chip quartz oscillator. In an embodiment of a chip quartz oscillator S in accordance with the present invention, a quartz oscillator 2, which has a detection electrode 3 on a surface thereof and a non-detection electrode on the other surface thereof, is fixed on a substrate 1, and each of the electrodes is connected electrically to a terminal 4 or 4′ on the substrate 1. While keeping the non-detection electrode in contact with the substrate 1, the quartz oscillator 2 is fixed on the substrate 1, by flexibly bonding the side-wall 2′″ of the quartz oscillator 2 along its circumference to the surface of the substrate 1 by using the elastic bonding agent 5. Thus, the oscillation surface of the quartz oscillator 2 is supported distributively on the substrate 1 in a surface-contacting and non-adhesive manner.

Claims

1. A chip quartz oscillator (S) comprising a quartz oscillator (2;

6) having a first surface (2′

;

6′

) and a second surface (2″

;

6″

) joined by a side-wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

) and said quartz oscillator (2;

6) further having a detection electrode (3;

7) on said first surface (2′

;

6′

) and a non-detection electrode (3″

, 7″

) on said second surface (2″

;

6″

) characterised in that said quartz oscillator is flexibly mounted on a substrate (1).

3. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that said or each quartz oscillator is flexibly mounted on said substrate (1;

14) by an elastic bonding agent (5) attaching said side-wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

) of said or each quartz oscillator to said substrate (1).

4. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with claim 3 characterised in that said elastic bonding agent (5) extends along substantially the whole of the circumference of said or each side wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

).

5. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of claims 3 or 4 characterised in that said elastic bonding agent (5) sealingly attaches said quartz oscillator (S) to said substrate (1;

14)).

6. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of the previous claims characterised in that the surface (2″

;

6″

) of said quartz oscillator (S) facing towards said substrate (1;

14) is in contact with said substrate (1;

14) but does not adhere to said substrate (1;

14).

7. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of claims 3-5 characterised in that said elastic bonding agent (5) is mobile enough to spread but not to penetrate into the contact between the oscillator and support when being applied, and is elastic enough to allow the oscillator'"'"'s stabilised motion but is no longer mobile when cured.

8. A chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of the previous claims characterised in that it comprises at least a quartz oscillation circuit section (OSC) for causing said quartz oscillator to oscillate and to output a signal relating to the oscillation frequency of said quartz oscillator;

a photocoupler section (PC) for transmitting the output from the quartz oscillation circuit section to an external device,

a power source section (PS) containing a battery for supplying voltage to the quartz oscillation circuit section (OSC) and the photocoupler section (PC), and

a shield for insulating the quartz oscillation circuit section, the photocoupler section, and the power source section in order to prevent fluctuation of oscillation frequency caused by external noises.

9. A batch-type liquid-phase quartz oscillator sensor characterised in that it comprises a chip quartz oscillator of any of the previous claims positioned in a vessel (34) wherein said vessel is able to retain a sample solution so that the detection electrode(s) (3;

7) is/are able to be exposed to said sample solution.

10. A flow-type liquid-phase quartz oscillator sensor having a detection flow cell (39) through which sample solution can flow characterised in that contains a chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of claims 1-8 wherein said quartz oscillator (2;

6) is mounted by an elastic body such as O-ring or gasket (49) in contact with its substrate (1;

14) in said flow cell solid vessel, such that only the face of the substrate upon which said quartz oscillator is mounted, is exposed to the sample solution.

12. The use of a chip quartz oscillator in accordance with any of claims 1-8 to detect the presence of specific molecules in a fluid.

2. A chip quartz oscillator characterised in that it comprises a plurality of quartz oscillators (2;

6), each having a first surface (2′

;

6′

) and a second surface (2″

;

6″

) joined by a side-wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

), wherein each quartz oscillator further has a detection electrode (3;

7) on said first surface (2′

;

6′

) and a non-detection electrode (3″

, 7″

) on said second surface (2″

;

6″

) and wherein each quartz oscillator (2;

6) is flexibly mounted on a substrate (14).

11. A method of manufacturing a quartz oscillator sensor characterised by the steps of:

placing onto a substrate (1) a quartz oscillator (S) having a first surface (2′

;

6′

) and a second surface (2″

;

6″

) joined by a side-wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

) and further having a detection electrode (3, 7) on said first surface and a non-detection electrode (3″

;

7″

) on said second surface, and

flexibly attaching said quartz oscillator to said substrate (1;

14) by an elastic bonding agent (5) that can bond said side-wall (2′

″

;

6′

″

) to said substrate (1).