Method and system for detecting material using piezoelectric resonators
First Claim
1. A method of detecting binding of material on a surface of a piezoelectric resonator operable in a bulk-acoustic wave resonant mode, comprising the steps of:
- coupling an input electrical signal to the piezoelectric resonator, the input electric signal having a frequency within a resonance band of the piezoelectric resonator;
transmitting the input electrical signal through the piezoelectric resonator to generate an output electrical signal having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input electrical signal;
receiving the output electrical signal from the piezoelectric resonator; and
determining a change in insertion phase shift of the output electrical signal caused by binding of the material on the surface of the piezoelectric resonator, whereby the change in insertion phase shift provides quantitative information regarding the binding of the material on the surface of the piezoelectric resonator.
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Abstract
A method and system for detecting material bound on a surface of a piezoelectric resonator introduces a signal of a constant frequency through the sensing resonator and detects a change in the insertion phase shift of the resonator as a result of the binding of the material being detected on the surface of the resonator. Environmental effects on the measurement are effectively canceled by the use of a reference resonator driven by the same input signal. A multiple-port sensing device is provided which includes thin-film sensing and reference resonators monolithically formed on a substrate.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of detecting binding of material on a surface of a piezoelectric resonator operable in a bulk-acoustic wave resonant mode, comprising the steps of:
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coupling an input electrical signal to the piezoelectric resonator, the input electric signal having a frequency within a resonance band of the piezoelectric resonator; transmitting the input electrical signal through the piezoelectric resonator to generate an output electrical signal having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input electrical signal; receiving the output electrical signal from the piezoelectric resonator; and determining a change in insertion phase shift of the output electrical signal caused by binding of the material on the surface of the piezoelectric resonator, whereby the change in insertion phase shift provides quantitative information regarding the binding of the material on the surface of the piezoelectric resonator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for detecting material comprising:
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a piezoelectric resonator operable in a bulk-acoustic wave resonant mode and having a surface for binding with the material being detected; a signal source for generating an input electrical signal having a frequency within a resonance band of the piezoelectric resonator, the signal source coupled to the piezoelectric resonator for transmitting the input electrical signal through the piezoelectric resonator to generate an output electrical signal having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input electrical signal; a phase detector coupled to the piezoelectric resonator for receiving therefrom the output electrical signal and generating a phase signal indicative of a change in insertion phase shift of the piezoelectric resonator caused by binding of the material on the surface of the piezoelectric resonator. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for material detection comprising:
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a reference resonator and at least one sensing resonator supported for bulk-acoustic wave resonance, the reference resonator having a resonant band overlapping a resonant band of the sensing resonator, the sensing resonator having a surface for binding with the material being detected; a signal source providing an input signal having a frequency within an overlapping portion of the resonance bands of the reference resonator and the sensing resonator, the signal generator coupled to the reference resonator and the sensing resonator for transmitting the input signal therethrough to generate respectively a reference signal and a sensor signal each having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input signal; a phase detector coupled to the reference resonator and the sensing resonator to receive the reference signal and the sensor signal, the phase detector generating a phase signal representing a phase difference between the reference signal and the sensor signal, whereby the phase difference is altered by binding of the material on the surface of the sensing resonator. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of detecting material comprising the steps of:
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providing a sensing resonator and a reference resonator supported for bulk-acoustic wave resonance, the sensing resonator having a resonant band overlapping a resonant band of the reference resonator, the sensing resonator having a surface for binding with the material being detected; and generating an input signal within an overlapping portion of the resonant bands of the reference resonator and the sensing resonator; coupling the input signal to the reference resonator and the sensing resonator and transmitting the input signal therethrough to generate respectively a reference signal and a sensor signal each having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input signal; detecting a change in phase difference between the sensor signal and the reference signal in response to the binding of the material on the surface of the sensing resonator. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A monolithic sensor for detecting adsorption of material comprising:
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a substrate layer; a reference resonator and at least one sensing resonator formed on the substrate layer and supported for bulk-acoustic wave resonance, each of the reference resonator and the sensing resonator having a thin-film piezoelectric layer and input and output electrodes on opposite sides of the piezoelectric layer, the reference resonator having a resonance band overlapping a resonance band of the sensing resonator; a first transmission line formed on the substrate layer for coupling an input electrical signal; a power divider connected to the first transmission line and the input electrodes of the reference resonator and the sensing resonator for directing the input electrical signal from the first transmission line to the reference and sensing resonators; a second transmission line formed on the substrate layer and connected to the output electrode of the reference resonator for delivering a reference signal generated by transmitting the input electrical signal through the reference resonator and having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input electrical signal; and a third transmission line formed on the substrate layer and connected to the output electrode of the sensing resonator for delivering a sensor signal generated by transmitting the input electrical signal through the sensing resonator and having a frequency identical to the frequency of the input electrical signal. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification