This Letter reports on an advanced out-of-plane bending mode for aluminum-nitride (AlN)-actuated cantilevers. Devices of different thickness were fabricated and characterized by optical and electrical measurements in air and liquid media having viscosities up to 615 cP and compared to the classical out-of-plane bending and torsional modes. Finite element method eigenmode analyses were performed showing excellent agreement with the measured mode shapes and resonance frequencies. Quality factors (Q-factor) and the electrical behavior were evaluated as a function of the cantilever thickness. A very high Q-factor of about 197 was achieved in deionized water at a low resonance frequency of 336 kHz, being up to now, the highest quality factor reported for cantilever sensors in liquid media. Compared to the quality factor of the common fundamental out-of-plane bending mode, a 5 times higher Q-factor was achieved. Furthermore, the strain related conductance peak of the roof tile-shaped mode is superior. Compared to any out-of-plane bending mode, this combination of most beneficial properties is unique and make this mode superior for a large variety of resonator-based sensing applications.

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We report the use of two AlN-based piezoelectric microresonators for the monitoring of density and viscosity of liquids and its application to detect lubricant oil dilution with diesel fuel. Two devices designed to resonate in the 4th-order roof tile-shaped vibration mode, but with two different anchor schemes, were fabricated and characterized. Interface circuits were designed to convert the one-port impedance into a resonant two-port transfer function. This allowed us to implement a phase locked loop (PLL)-based oscillator circuit based on the resonators, the interface circuit and a commercial lock-in amplifier. Our results demonstrate the performance of the resonators in fluids having viscosities up to 500 mPa · s. The performance of the sensors in terms of sensitivity and resolution are compared for both anchor configurations.

This letter reports on higher orders of an advanced out-of-plane bending mode in aluminium-nitride (AlN)-actuated cantilever plates achieving the highest quality factors (Q-factor) of cantilever-based MEMS (micro electromechanical system) resonators in liquids up to now. Devices based on a 20 μm thick silicon cantilever were fabricated and characterised by optical and electrical measurements in air and in different liquids. Furthermore, finite element method eigenmode analyses were performed, showing an excellent agreement with the measured mode shape and the electrical characteristics. The highest Q-factor was achieved in deionised water with Q = 366, operated at the 10th order mode at a resonance frequency less than 4 MHz. This is the highest value ever measured in liquid media with a cantilever-based MEMS resonator up to now and exceeds the Q-factors of state of the art resonators in liquids in the given resonance frequency range by a factor of about 4. Furthermore, the strain related conductance peak of the multi roof tile-shaped modes is superior, showing great potential for further electrode design optimisation. Compared to common out-of-plane bending modes, this combination of most beneficial properties is unique, making this type of vibration mode the first choice for a large variety of resonator-based liquid-phase sensing applications.

In this study grape must fermentation is monitored using a self-actuating/self-sensing piezoelectric micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) resonator. The sensor element is excited in an advanced roof tile-shaped vibration mode, which ensures high Q-factors in liquids (i.e., Q ~100 in isopropanol), precise resonance frequency analysis, and a fast measurement procedure. Two sets of artificial model solutions are prepared, representing an ordinary and a stuck/sluggish wine fermentation process. The precision and reusability of the sensor are shown using repetitive measurements (10 times), resulting in standard deviations of the measured resonance frequencies of ~0.1%, Q-factor of ~11%, and an electrical conductance peak height of ~12%, respectively. With the applied evaluation procedure, moderate standard deviations of ~1.1% with respect to density values are achieved. Based on these results, the presented sensor concept is capable to distinguish between ordinary and stuck wine fermentation, where the evolution of the wine density associated with the decrease in sugar and the increase in ethanol concentrations during fermentation processes causes a steady increase in the resonance frequency for an ordinary fermentation. Finally, the first test measurements in real grape must are presented, showing a similar trend in the resonance frequency compared to the results of an artificial solutions, thus proving that the presented sensor concept is a reliable and reusable platform for grape must fermentation monitoring.

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