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handbook of modern sensors

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518 17 Chemical Sensors<br />

Fig. 17.14. Flextural-plate SAW gas sensor; deflection <strong>of</strong> the membrane is exaggerated for<br />

clarity.<br />

connected to the oscillating circuit whose frequency f 0 is determined by the natural<br />

mechanical frequency <strong>of</strong> the sensor’s plate.<br />

The circuit contains an amplifier whose output drives the excitation electrode.<br />

Due to the piezoelectric effect, this results in flexing the membrane and propagation<br />

<strong>of</strong> the deflection wave from right to left. The wave velocity is determined by the<br />

state <strong>of</strong> the membrane and its coating. The change in the mechanical properties <strong>of</strong><br />

the coating depends on its interaction with the sampled gas. Thus, the left electrodes<br />

will detect piezoelectric response either sooner or later, depending on how fast the<br />

wave goes through the membrane. The received signal is applied to the amplifier’s<br />

input as a feedback voltage and causes the circuit to oscillate. The output frequency<br />

is a measure <strong>of</strong> the sampled gas concentration. The reference frequency is usually<br />

determined before sampling the gas.<br />

One <strong>of</strong> the possible applications for the technique is the monitoring <strong>of</strong> heterogeneous<br />

samples, such as aerosols and suspensions. The mass increase due to impacting<br />

and sticking particles (liquid–aerosol or solid–suspension) produces a strong frequency<br />

shift; however, it is also sensitive to particle size, which means that it can<br />

be used either to detect the sizes <strong>of</strong> the particles or to monitor samples with constant<br />

particle dimensions. To improve the “stickiness” <strong>of</strong> the crystal, it can be treated<br />

chemically, or an electrostatic effect can be used.<br />

The theoretical sensitivity <strong>of</strong> the flextural plate sensor is given by S m =−1/2ρd,<br />

where ρ is the average density <strong>of</strong> the plate and d is its thickness [23]. At an operating<br />

frequency <strong>of</strong> 2.6 MHz, the sensor has sensitivity on the order <strong>of</strong> −900 cm 2 /g. So,<br />

for example, if the sensor having the area <strong>of</strong> 0.2 cm 2 captures 10 ng (10 −8 g) <strong>of</strong> material,<br />

the oscillating frequency is shifted by f =−(900)(2.6 × 10 6 )(10 −8 /0.2) =<br />

−117 Hz.<br />

The SAW <strong>sensors</strong> are quite versatile and can be adapted for measuring a variety<br />

<strong>of</strong> chemical compounds. The key to their efficiency is the selection <strong>of</strong> the coating.<br />

Table 17.1 gives examples <strong>of</strong> various SAW <strong>sensors</strong>.

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