Thin film resonant chemical sensor with resonant acoustic isolator
AssigneeRockwell Science Center, Inc.
InventorsPaul H. Kobrin, Charles W. Seabury, Alan B. Harker, Ronald P. O'Toole
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Abstract
A miniature chemical sensor using a thin film acoustic resonator coated with a chemically sensitive sorbent coating. The thin film acoustic resonator has electrodes separated by a thin piezoelectric layer and is supported by a multilayer resonant acoustic isolator. The resonant acoustic isolator has alternating layers of high and low acoustic impedance material, each layer being one quarter acoustic wavelength thick or an odd multiple thereof at the resonant frequency. The resonant acoustic isolator is solidly mounted on a substrate but provides acoustic isolation between the thin film acoustic resonator and the substrate at a resonant frequency.
Claims14
A chemical sensor for sensing chemicals in an environment, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a chemically sensitive thin-film acoustic resonator, comprising:
- a piezoelectric resonator having an acoustic resonance quality, and
- an organic coating on a surface of said piezoelectric resonator and exposed to the environment, said coating and said piezoelectric resonator together having an acoustic resonance quality less than that of said piezoelectric resonator by itself;
- and
- a resonant acoustic isolator, interfacing between said chemically sensitive thin film acoustic resonator and said substrate and having a resonant frequency substantially matching that of said thin film acoustic resonator, thereby acoustically isolating said chemically sensitive thin film acoustic resonator from said substrate at said resonant frequency.
A chemical sensor array for sensing chemicals in an environment, comprising:
- a common substrate;
- a plurality of chemical sensors, fabricated on said common substrate, each chemical sensor comprising:
- a chemically sensitive thin-film acoustic resonator, comprising:
- (a) a piezoelectric resonator having an acoustic resonance quality, and
- (b) an organic coating on a surface of said piezoelectric resonator and exposed to the environment, said coating and said piezoelectric resonator together having an acoustic resonance quality less than that of said piezoelectric resonator by itself, and
- a resonant acoustic isolator, interfacing between said chemically sensitive thin film acoustic resonator and said common substrate and having a resonant frequency substantially matching that of said thin film acoustic resonator, said acoustic isolator acoustically isolating said chemically sensitive thin film acoustic resonator from said common substrate at said resonant frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.