Resonant properties of ceramic resonators coated with plasma polymerized styrene film

Ceramic resonators (CR) utilize the mechanical resonance of piezoelectric ceramics, typically of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which provide various vibration modes depending on the resonance frequency (Jaffe, B. et al., 1971; Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., www.murata.com/calalog/p19e7.pdf, 2001). Recently, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) techniques have found wide application in chemical and biosensors (Lu, C. and Czanderna, A.W., 1984). The high-frequency QCM shows high mass sensitivity, but it has a narrow working range for mass loading. The CR is expected to show a property similar to that of QCM, even though the mass loading effect on CR has not been investigated. The resonant properties of a CR coated with a plasma polymerized styrene film (PPSF) to give a mass loading effect were examined and compared with those of a QCM device.