Piezoelectric diaphragm as a high performance biosensor platform

The design of a piezoelectric diaphragm as a dual-functional biosensor platform, bending and thickness modes, is reported. The diaphragm using bending mode exhibits a higher sensitivity than the state-of-the-art microcantilevers, while the diaphragm using thickness mode has a much higher sensitivity than the bending mode. It was experimentally found that for the bending mode the diaphragm in liquid exhibits the same Q value as the diaphragm in air, while for the thickness mode the diaphragm in liquid exhibits a much smaller Q value. That is, the bending mode is the better candidate for developing high performance sensor platforms employed in liquid.