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Quartz Crystal Microbalance Electronic Interfacing Systems: A Review

Alassi, A; Benammar, M; Brett, D; (2017) Quartz Crystal Microbalance Electronic Interfacing Systems: A Review. [Review]. Sensors , 17 (12) , Article 2799. 10.3390/s17122799. Green open access

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Abstract

Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors are actively being implemented in various fields due to their compatibility with different operating conditions in gaseous/liquid mediums for a wide range of measurements. This trend has been matched by the parallel advancement in tailored electronic interfacing systems for QCM sensors. That is, selecting the appropriate electronic circuit is vital for accurate sensor measurements. Many techniques were developed over time to cover the expanding measurement requirements (e.g., accommodating highly-damping environments). This paper presents a comprehensive review of the various existing QCM electronic interfacing systems. Namely, impedance-based analysis, oscillators (conventional and lock-in based techniques), exponential decay methods and the emerging phase-mass based characterization. The aforementioned methods are discussed in detail and qualitatively compared in terms of their performance for various applications. In addition, some theoretical improvements and recommendations are introduced for adequate systems implementation. Finally, specific design considerations of high-temperature microbalance systems (e.g., GaPO4 crystals (GCM) and Langasite crystals (LCM)) are introduced, while assessing their overall system performance, stability and quality compared to conventional low-temperature applications.

Type: Article
Title: Quartz Crystal Microbalance Electronic Interfacing Systems: A Review
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/s17122799
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.3390/s17122799
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: quartz crystal microbalance; BVD model; impedance analyzers; QCM oscillators; Phase-Locked-Loop; QCM-D; Contactless QCM; Phase-Mass QCM; high-temperature microbalance
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10048613
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