Quartz Tuning Fork Prongs Research Articles

Molecularly Imprinted Chitosan Modified Quartz Tuning Fork Sensors for Real Time Biosensing in Liquid Environment

Several new sensing technologies have emerged to meet the escalating demand for accurate and rapid diagnosis. We present an overview of the development of highly sensitive and selective Quartz Tuning Fork (QTF)-based sensors in a liquid environment, which will be critically important for contemporary diagnostic methods reliant on sensing technologies. The purpose of this study is to modify QTF prongs using molecularly imprinted chitosan, in combination with the operation of a quartz tuning fork as a piezoelectric crystal for biomedical applications. Through real-time data acquisition, we evaluate QTF resonance frequency shifts in dry and liquid environments using a model protein, BSA. As a result, the QTF-based sensor fails to detect BSA in dry conditions. It is however possible to measure frequency shifts ranging from 5 to 25 µg /mL within a liquid matrix. There is a rapid equilibration response time of 2 to 10 minutes depending on the concentration of BSA in the sensor. With the developed QTF-based sensor, a sensitivity of 1.1069 Hz/ µg has been achieved within the liquid matrix. As a result of the excellent properties of molecularly imprinted chitosan, it has been possible to develop a QTF-based biosensor capable of acquiring real-time data even when it is in liquid solutions.

Trace Gas Detection System Based on Photoacoustic and Photothermal Spectroscopy Using Ring Fiber Laser and Quartz Tuning Fork

In this paper, a dual-spectroscopy gas sensing system based on ring cavity laser and quartz tuning fork (QTF) is designed. 15 m erbium-doped fiber with 1500 ppm doping concentration is used as gain medium, piezoelectric transducer (PZT) and acousto-optic modulator (AOM) are used as detection method. The first fiber collimator (FC) emits laser beam, laser is received by the second FC after passing through an off-beam acoustic micro-resonator (AmR) for quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) signal excitation and enhancement. The received laser is transmitted through the optical fiber and then incident on the QTF prongs by the third FC, which excites and quartz-enhan-ced photothermal spectroscopy (QEPTS) signal. Combined with the ring intra-cavity fiber laser and wavelength scanning and intensity modulation technology, dual-spectroscopy gas detection is realized. Compared with the single detection of QEPAS or QEPTS signals, the detection limit is enhanced. Under the conditions of 400mW pump power and 2500 ppmv acetylene (C <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> H <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ) gas concentration, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of QEPAS, QEPTS and dual-spectroscopy signals are 838.07, 1117.47 and 2096.26, respectively, and the minimum detection limits (MDL) of 2.98 ppmv, 2.24 ppmv, 1.19 ppmv are achieved, respectively.

Acoustic microresonator based in-plane quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy sensor with a line interaction mode.

An acoustic microresonator (AmR) based in-plane quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (IP-QEPAS) sensor with a line interaction mode is proposed for what is believed to be the first time. The interaction area for the acoustic wave of the proposed AmR, with a slotted sidewall, is not limited to a point of the quartz tuning fork (QTF) prongs, but extends along the whole plane of the QTF prongs. Sixteen types of AmRs are designed to identify the best parameters. Water vapor (H2O) is chosen as the analyte to verify the reported method. The results indicate that this AmR for IP-QEPAS with a line interaction mode not only provides a high signal level, but also reduces the thermal noise caused by the laser directly illuminating the QTF. Compared with standard IP-QEPAS without an AmR, the minimum detection limit (MDL) is improved by 4.11 times with the use of the technique proposed in this study.

Multiple-sound-source-excitation quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy based on a single-line spot pattern multi-pass cell

Multiple-sound-source-excitation quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (MSSE-QEPAS) based on a single-line spot pattern multi-pass cell (MPC) is reported for trace gas detection. The single-line spot pattern MPC is designed to make a laser beam pass through a quartz tuning fork (QTF) 60 times, thus producing 60 sound sources between the two QTF prongs. These sound sources excite the QTF operating at fundamental resonance mode in phase, resulting in a signal gain factor of ∼20. A theoretical mode based on convolution method is proposed to explain the working mechanism of MSSE-QEPAS.

A theoretical-experimental framework for the analysis of the dynamic response of a QEPAS tuning fork device immersed in a fluid medium

Quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) is a trace gas sensing technique that employs a designed high-quality factor quartz tuning fork (QTF) as acousto-electric transducer. The first in-plane skew-symmetric flexural mode of the QTF is excited when weak resonant sound waves are generated between the QTF prongs. Thus, the performance of a QEPAS sensor strongly depends on the resonance properties of the QTF, namely the determination of flexural eigenfrequencies and air damping loss.In this work, we present a mixed theoretical-experimental framework to study the dynamic response of a QTF while vibrating in a fluid environment. Due to the system linearity, the dynamic response of the resonator immersed in a fluid medium is obtained by employing a Boundary Element formulation based on an ad hoc calculated Green’s function. In particular, the QTF is modelled as constituted by a pair of two Euler-Bernoulli cantilevers partially coupled by a distributed linear spring. As for the forces exerted by the fluid on QTF structure, the fluid inertia and viscosity as well as an additional diffusivity term, whose influence is crucial for the correct evaluation of the system response, have been taken into account.By corroborating the theoretical analysis with the experimental outcomes obtained by means of a vibro-acoustic setup, the fluid response coefficients and the dynamics of the QTF immersed in a fluid environment are fully determined.

Quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy exploiting a fast and wideband electro-mechanical light modulator

A quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) gas sensor exploiting a fast and wideband electro-mechanical light modulator was developed. The modulator was designed based on the electro-mechanical effect of a commercial quartz tuning fork (QTF). The laser beam was directed on the edge surface of the QTF prongs. The configuration of the laser beam and the QTF was optimized in detail in order to achieve a modulation efficiency of ∼100%. The L-band single wavelength laser diode and a C-band tunable continuous wave laser were used to verify the performance of the developed QTF modulator, respectively, realizing a QEPAS sensor based on amplitude modulation (AM). As proof of concept, the AM-based QEPAS sensor demonstrated a detection limit of 45 ppm for H2O and 50 ppm for CO2 with a 1 s integration time respectively.

Quartz Enhanced Photoacoustic Detection Based on an Elliptical Laser Beam

A quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor system based on an elliptical laser beam for trace gas detection was demonstrated. A Powell lens was exploited to shape the circular laser beam into an elliptical laser beam for the full utilization of the quartz tuning fork (QTF) prong spacing. Based on the finite element modeling (FEM) simulation software COMSOL, the distribution of acoustic pressure on QTF prongs with different beam shapes was simulated theoretically. The experimental results showed that the QEPAS signal based on the elliptical laser beam had a 1.4-fold improvement compared with the circular laser beam, resulting in a minimum detection limit of 418.6 ppmv and the normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) of 1.51 × 10−6 cm−1 W/√Hz at atmospheric pressure.

Ultra-high sensitive trace gas detection based on light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy and a custom quartz tuning fork

A highly sensitive trace gas sensor based on light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES) and a custom quartz tuning fork (QTF) is reported. The QTF has a T-shaped prong geometry and grooves carved on the prongs' surface, allowing a reduction of both the resonance frequency and the electrical resistance but retaining a high resonance quality factor. The base of the QTF prongs is the area maximizing the light-induced thermoelastic effect. The front surface of this area was left uncoated to allow laser transmission through the quartz, while on the back side of the QTF, a gold film was coated to back-reflect the laser beam and further enhance the light absorption inside the crystal. Acetylene (C2H2) was chosen as the target gas to test and validate the LITES sensor. We demonstrated that the sensor response scales linearly with the laser power incident on the prong base, and the optimum signal to noise ratio was obtained at an optical power of 4 mW. A minimum detection limit of ∼325 ppb was achieved at an integration time of 1 s, corresponding to a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient of 9.16 × 10−10 cm−1W/√Hz, nearly one order of magnitude better with respect to the value obtained with a standard 32.768 kHz QTF-based LITES sensor under the same experimental conditions.

Simultaneous dual-gas QEPAS detection based on a fundamental and overtone combined vibration of quartz tuning fork

A dual-gas quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor system based on a frequency division multiplexing technique of a quartz tuning fork (QTF) was developed and experimentally demonstrated. Two beams from two independently modulated lasers are focused at two different positions between the QTF prongs to excite both the QTF fundamental and 1st overtone flexural modes simultaneously. The 2f-wavelength modulation technique is employed by applying two sinusoidal dithers, whose frequencies are equal to a half of the QTF fundamental and 1st overtone frequencies, respectively, to the currents of two excitation lasers. The resonance frequency difference between two flexural modes ensures that the correlated photoacoustic signals generated by different target gases do not interfere with each other. The proposed QEPAS methodology realizes a continuous real-time dual-gas monitoring with a simple setup and small sensor size compared with previous multi-gas QEPAS sensors.

Improved evanescent-wave quartz-enhanced photoacoustic CO sensor using an optical fiber taper

An evanescent-wave quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (EW-QEPAS) CO sensor was developed using a tapered fiber integrated with the quartz tuning fork (QTF) and micro-resonator (mR) tubes. The fiber taper was inserted through the two mR tubes with the taper waist located between the QTF prongs. A fiber-coupled continuous-wave distributed feedback (DFB) laser at 2.3μm was connected with the fiber taper fabricated by the flame-brushing method. The fiber taper has negligible influence on the resonant frequency and Q-factor of the QTF, but significantly reduces the background noise compared with the recently developed fiber tip-based EW-QEPAS sensor. In the EW-QEPAS detection with wavelength modulation spectroscopy, we investigated the optimal modulation depth and gas pressure, which are different from that of the conventional free-space QEPAS detection. The current CO sensor achieved a minimum detection limit of ∼20ppm at the 210-s averaging time, corresponding to a normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) coefficient of 1.44×10−8cm−1W/√Hz.

Improved Tuning Fork for Terahertz Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy.

We report on a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic (QEPAS) sensor for methanol (CH3OH) detection employing a novel quartz tuning fork (QTF), specifically designed to enhance the QEPAS sensing performance in the terahertz (THz) spectral range. A discussion of the QTF properties in terms of resonance frequency, quality factor and acousto-electric transduction efficiency as a function of prong sizes and spacing between the QTF prongs is presented. The QTF was employed in a QEPAS sensor system using a 3.93 THz quantum cascade laser as the excitation source in resonance with a CH3OH rotational absorption line located at 131.054 cm−1. A minimum detection limit of 160 ppb in 30 s integration time, corresponding to a normalized noise equivalent absorption NNEA = 3.75 × 10−11 cm−1W/Hz½, was achieved, representing a nearly one-order-of-magnitude improvement with respect to previous reports.

Dynamics of quartz tuning fork force sensors used in scanning probe microscopy

We have performed an experimental characterization of the dynamics of oscillating quartztuning forks which are being increasingly used in scanning probe microscopy asforce sensors. We show that tuning forks can be described as a system of coupledoscillators. Nevertheless, this description requires knowledge of the elastic couplingconstant between the prongs of the tuning fork, which has not yet been measured.Therefore, tuning forks have usually been described within the single oscillator or theweakly coupled oscillators approximation that neglects the coupling between theprongs. We propose three different procedures to measure the elastic couplingconstant: an opto-mechanical method, a variation of the Cleveland method anda thermal noise based method. We find that the coupling between the quartztuning fork prongs has a strong influence on the dynamics and the measuredmotion is in remarkable agreement with a simple model of coupled harmonicoscillators. The precise determination of the elastic coupling between the prongs of atuning fork allows us to obtain a quantitative relation between the resonancefrequency shift and the force gradient acting at the free end of a tuning fork prong.