Resonator/oscillator response to liquid loading

摘要

A thickness-shear mode (TSM) resonator typically consists of a thin disk of AT-cut quartz with circular electrodes patterned on both sides. When connected to appropriate circuitry, the quartz crystal resonates at a frequency determined by the crystal thickness. Originally used to measure metal deposition in vacuum, the device has recently been used for measurements in liquid. Since the mass sensitivity of the resonator is nearly the same in liquids as in air or vacuum, the device can be used as a sensitive solution-phase microbalance. In addition, the sensitivity of the TSM resonator to contacting fluid properties enables it to function as a monitor for these properties. Under liquid loading, the change in frequency of the resonator/oscillator combination differs from the change in resonant frequency of the device. Either of these changes can be determined from an appropriate application of an equivalent-circuit model that describes the electrical characteristics of the liquid-loaded resonator.