High frequency Piezoelectric Resonant Nanochannel for bio-sensing applications in liquid environment

This paper reports on the first demonstration of a 457 MHz AlN Piezolectric Resonant Nanochannel (PRN) for bio-sensing applications in liquid environment. A novel process consisting of 7 lithographic steps was developed to fabricate the PRN. The new resonant device shows an unchanged value of the electromechanical coupling, k_t² (about 0.8 %), whether the channel is filled with air or water and a quality factor, Q, in liquid of approximately 170. The value of k_t² and Q are respectively about 2.7 and 2 times the ones recorded for conventional laterally vibrating AlN Contour Mode Resonant Sensors (CMR-Ss) submerged in water. Overall, these results translate in a ~5 fold enhancement in the figure of merit (k_t²-Q product) of the resonant device when operated in liquid and simultaneously permit the efficient delivery of ultra-low concentrations of fluid samples directly on the surface of the sensor.