Mass and heat flow measurement sensor
First Claim
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1. A liquid sensor comprising:
- (a) a microresonator comprising a piezoelectric substrate having a first face and a second opposite face, wherein said first face of said piezoelectric substrate comprises an electrode deposited on said first face;
(b) a heat flow sensor coupled thermally to said piezoelectric substrate of said microresonator; and
(c) a heat sink coupled thermally to said heat flow sensor;
wherein said microresonator is capable of measuring at least one property of a liquid sample interacting with said first face, and said heat flow sensor is capable of measuring the flow of heat from said liquid to said heat sink.
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Abstract
Provided are mass and heat flow measurement sensors comprising a microresonator, such as a quartz crystal microbalance; a heat flow sensor; and a heat sink coupled thermally to the heat flow sensor. The sensors may be used to measure changes in mass due to a sample on a surface of the microresonator and also to measure heat flow from the sample on the surface of the microresonator by utilizing the heat flow sensor, which is coupled thermally to the microresonator. Also provided are methods for measuring the mass of a sample, such as a gas, and the flow of heat from the sample to the heat sink by utilizing such mass and heat flow measurement sensors.
49 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A liquid sensor comprising:
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(a) a microresonator comprising a piezoelectric substrate having a first face and a second opposite face, wherein said first face of said piezoelectric substrate comprises an electrode deposited on said first face;
(b) a heat flow sensor coupled thermally to said piezoelectric substrate of said microresonator; and
(c) a heat sink coupled thermally to said heat flow sensor;
wherein said microresonator is capable of measuring at least one property of a liquid sample interacting with said first face, and said heat flow sensor is capable of measuring the flow of heat from said liquid to said heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. The liquid sensor comprising:
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(a) a coated microresonator comprising a piezoelectric substrate having a first face and a second opposite face, wherein said first face of said piezoelectric substrate comprises a coating layer deposited on said first face;
(b) a heat flow sensor coupled thermally to said piezoelectric substrate of said microresonator; and
(c) a heat sink coupled thermally to said heat flow sensor;
wherein said microresonator is capable of measuring at least one property of a liquid sample interacting with said coating layer, and said heat flow sensor is capable of measuring the flow of heat from said liquid sample to said heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for measuring a liquid sample, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a microresonator which comprises a piezoelectric substrate having a first solid face for directly contacting a liquid sample and a second opposite solid face isolated from contacting said sample, said piezoelectric substrate having a resonant frequency and capable of producing a measurement signal based on said resonant frequency;
(b) providing a heat flow sensor coupled thermally to said piezoelectric substrate of said microresonator;
(c) providing a heat sink coupled thermally to said heat flow sensor;
(d) measuring the changes in at least one property of said liquid sample interacting with said first face utilizing said microresonator; and
(e) measuring the flow of heat from said liquid sample to said heat sink. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification