Piezoelectrically actuated Circular Diaphragm Resonator mass sensors

Abstract

This work reports a piezoelectrically driven and sensed Circular Diaphragm Resonator (CDR) mass sensor. The work is a development of an electrostatically-activated version and aims to simplify the microfabrication process and signal recovery electronics. A range of device geometries were fabricated and both optical and electrical testing performed to assess performance. Electrical sensing, using a charge amplifier, achieved a signal to noise ratio of 10:1 at 6 MHz and a preliminary sensitivity of 55 fg Hz-1. The devices are nano-enabled as biosensors using a high resolution bio-molecule patterning technique and preliminary results are introduced in this regard.