A Practical Model of Quartz Crystal Microbalance in Actual Applications

A practical model of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is presented, which considers both the Gaussian distribution characteristic of mass sensitivity and the influence of electrodes on the mass sensitivity. The equivalent mass sensitivity of 5 MHz and 10 MHz AT-cut QCMs with different sized electro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xianhe Huang, Qingsong Bai, Jianguo Hu, Dong Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-08-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/8/1785
Description
Summary:A practical model of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is presented, which considers both the Gaussian distribution characteristic of mass sensitivity and the influence of electrodes on the mass sensitivity. The equivalent mass sensitivity of 5 MHz and 10 MHz AT-cut QCMs with different sized electrodes were calculated according to this practical model. The equivalent mass sensitivity of this practical model is different from the Sauerbrey’s mass sensitivity, and the error between them increases sharply as the electrode radius decreases. A series of experiments which plate rigid gold film onto QCMs were carried out and the experimental results proved this practical model is more valid and correct rather than the classical Sauerbrey equation. The practical model based on the equivalent mass sensitivity is convenient and accurate in actual measurements.
ISSN:1424-8220