Sensors, as well as systems and methods of using the same are provided. Aspects of the sensors include a piezoelectric base, a plurality of surface-associated compositions that are stably associated with the piezoelectric base, and a plurality of crosslinking compositions that are configured to crosslink one or more surface-associated compositions in the presence of an analyte. The sensors, systems and methods described herein find use in a variety of applications, including the detection of an analyte in a sample.

A monitoring device for monitoring a fabrication process in a fabrication system. The monitored fabrication system includes a process chamber and a plurality of flow components. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor monitors one flow component of the plurality of flow components of the fabrication system and is configured for exposure to a process chemistry in the one flow component during the fabrication process. A controller measures resonance frequency shifts of the QCM sensor due to interactions between the QCM sensor and the process chemistry in the one flow component during the fabrication process. The controller determines a parameter of the fabrication process in the process chamber as a function of the measured resonance frequency shifts of the QCM sensor within the one flow component.

A sensor apparatus capable of measuring an analyte with excellent sensitivity is provided. A sensor apparatus includes an element substrate; a detecting section disposed on an upper surface of the element substrate, the detecting element including a reaction section having an immobilization film to detect an analyte, a first IDT electrode configured to generate an acoustic wave which propagates toward the reaction section, and a second IDT electrode configured to receive the acoustic wave which has passed through the reaction section; and a protective film which covers the first IDT electrode and the second IDT electrode. The element substrate is configured so that a region where the reaction section is located is at a lower level than a region where the first IDT electrode is located and a region where the second IDT electrode is located.

A sensing device is provided. The sensing device includes a heat regulation mechanism to regulate a temperature of a piezoelectric resonator corresponding to a voltage, and uses a sensing sensor to cause a sensing object to adsorb to and desorb from the piezoelectric resonator by increase and decrease of the temperature. A drive voltage is regulated to regulate an amplification factor of a heat regulation voltage input to a drive voltage regulator that regulates the temperature of the heat regulation mechanism corresponding to the type of a sensing sensor connected to a device main body. Therefore, when a CQCM sensor that heats a crystal resonator using a heater circuit and a TQCM sensor that regulates a heat of the crystal resonator sing a Peltier element are each used, regulation ranges of the driving powers supplied to the respective heater circuit and Peltier element can be changed.

Methods include treating a portion of a sample composition to be tested for presence of an analyte by depleting or blocking the target analyte. The treated composition may be used to equilibrate an acoustic wave sensor prior to exposing the sensor to the untreated sample composition for analysis. By using the treated sample composition, in which the analyte is depleted or blocked, to equilibrate the sensor, the sensor may be equilibrated with a composition having a similar viscosity and non-specific binding characteristics to the untreated sample composition, which should result in improved accuracy when analyzing the analyte in the untreated sample composition.

Acoustic sensor devices and sensor systems are disclosed. An acoustic sensor device includes a piezoelectric plate having a front surface and a back surface. A floating back-side conductor pattern is formed on the back surface. A first and second front-side conductor patterns are formed on a portion of the front surface opposite the back-side conductor pattern. A sensing layer is formed over all or a portion of the floating back-side conductor pattern.

A piezoelectric plate sensor comprising a piezoelectric layer; two electrodes; and an insulation layer. The insulation layer is produced by soaking the piezoelectric layer and two electrodes in a mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane solution with an amount of water from 0.1 v/v. % to about 1 v/v % and at pH from about 8 to about 150 for a period from about 8 to about 15 hours, and the mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane solution has a concentration of mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane from about 0.01 v/v % to about 0.5 v/v %. A method of detecting a biomolecule in a sample using the piezoelectric plate sensor in particular, that of detecting a genetic marker with PCR sensitivity and specificity without the need of DNA isolation or amplification is also provided. The piezoelectric plate sensor may be used to diagnose various diseases including breast cancer, myocardial infarction, diarrhea, Clostridium difficile infection, and hepatitis B infection.

A method for the detection of analytes within a fluid, said method comprising the steps of prearranging a sensorized device (100) comprising at least one SAW sensor (110), said or each SAW sensor (110) comprising a substrate (115) having an outer surface (IIS′) comprising at least one piezoelectric portion, at least one emitting interdigital transducer (111) arranged on said piezoelectric portion of said outer surface (115′), said emitting interdigital transducer (111) arranged to emit a surface acoustic wave in response to an input electric signal, at least one reflector electrode (112) arranged on said outer surface (115′), said reflector electrode (112) arranged to reflect said acoustic wave towards said emitting interdigital transducer (111). There are then the steps of adsorbing a plurality of probe molecules on said outer surface (IIS′) of said substrate (115) and/or on said or each emitting interdigital transducer (111) and/or on said or each reflector electrode (112), sending n input electric signals, having respective frequencies fi, with i=1, to said emitting interdigital transducer (111) and subsequent transmission by said or each emitting interdigital transducer (111) of at least one surface acoustic wave, reflecting by said or each reflector electrode (112) of said or each surface acoustic wave emitted, identifying, between said n frequencies/j of said input electric signals, at least one resonance frequency fr corresponding to the generation of a surface acoustic wave having power exceeding a predetermined threshold PT, conveying said fluid on said outer surface (115) and/or on said or each emitting interdigital transducer (111) and/or on said or each reflector electrode (112), removal of said fluid by said outer surface (115) and/or by said or each emitting interdigital transducer (111) and/or by said or each reflector electrode (112), verifying a possible change of value of at least one resonance frequency fr previously identified.

A device for determining information of a substance in a matter comprising a substrate layer; an inter-layer dielectric disposed on the substrate layer; an electronic circuitry substantially formed in the inter-layer dielectric and includes a plurality of metal layers with at least one metal layer being used as an inner electrode, a sensing instrument having at least one sensing component that includes a piezoelectric layer and the inner electrode that is positioned adjacent to an inner surface of the piezoelectric layer, and at least one binding layer disposed on the inter-layer dielectric for binding the substance, wherein the sensing component allows the device to determine the information of the substance upon detecting presence of the substance at the binding layer.

A vibration detection element includes substrates, support members, and an oscillator, and may be used as a biosensor and/or for liquid inspection by analysis of oscillator resonant frequency change. The substrates have a space portion, and the support members protrude from the surfaces of the respective substrates into the space portion. The oscillator is disposed between the support members and is capable of vibrating in the space portion. The support members may each include multiple supports which prevent the oscillator from contacting the substrate surfaces. During manufacturing the oscillator may be transferred from the support member of a glass flow path substrate to a silicon flow path substrate by placement of the silicon substrate support member against the oscillator and subsequent removal of the adhesive from the glass substrate support member.