US 2010/0058834 A1 · METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOW DRIFT CHEMICAL SENSOR ARRAY

Abstract

An on-chip low baseline drift SAW/LAW chemical sensor array and method of forming the same. A dual SAW delay line includes a common IDT for generating an acoustic wave and a pair of IDT for reception of the acoustic wave. One sensing layer or one reference layer can be deposited in position on each side of the common IDT. An ASIC chip includes on chip dual operational amplifiers and a mixer in order to obtain a differential measurement utilizing a difference being given by the sensing and the reference layers. A 3D technology can be employed in order to connect the sensor array and the ASIC in the same package and thereby form a 3D stack. The chemical sensor array and the ASIC can be configured in different packages and interconnected on the same substrate utilizing 2D technologies. A number of gases can be detected independently, and each gas can be detected differentially, with respect to its associated sensing layer and specific reference layer.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A low drift chemical sensor array apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of SAW/LAW delay lines comprising a plurality of interdigital transducers, including at least a common interdigital transducer for generating an acoustic wave and a pair of interdigital transducers for reception of said acoustic wave, wherein each delay line among said plurality of SAW/LAW delay lines includes one sensing layer or one reference layer on each side of said common interdigital transducer;
and
an ASIC component comprising a plurality of operational amplifiers, wherein each operational amplifier among said plurality of operational amplifiers includes a positive feedback loop and contains within said positive feedback loop one SAW/LAW delay line among said plurality of SAW/LAW delay lines and said ASIC component further comprises a plurality of mixers, wherein each mixer among said plurality of mixers is used to obtain a gas differential measurement utilizing a frequency difference by subtracting frequencies from two operational amplifiers among said plurality of operational amplifiers per each gas to be detected from among a plurality of gases that come into contact with said low drift chemical sensor array apparatus separately or simultaneously.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for low drift chemical sensor array

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for low drift chemical sensor array

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22