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Multifunctional ZnO-Based Thin-Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator for Biosensors

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Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and its ternary alloy magnesium zinc oxide (Mg x Zn1−x O) are piezoelectric materials that can be used for high-quality-factor bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators operating at GHz frequencies. Thin-film bulk acoustic resonators (TFBARs) are attractive for applications in advanced communication and in various sensors as they offer the capability of monolithic integration of BAW resonators with radio-frequency integrated circuits (RF ICs). In this paper we report Mg x Zn1−x O-based TFBAR biosensors. The devices are built on Si substrates with an acoustic mirror consisting of alternating quarter-wavelength silicon dioxide (SiO2) and tungsten (W) layers to isolate the TFBAR from the Si substrate. High-quality ZnO and Mg x Zn1−x O thin films are achieved through a radio-frequency (RF) sputtering technique. Tuning of the device operating frequency is realized by varying the Mg composition in the piezoelectric Mg x Zn1−x O layer. Simulation results based on a transmission-line model of the TFBAR show close agreement with the experimental results. ZnO nanostructures are grown on the TFBAR’s top surface using metal- organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) to form the nano-TFBAR sensor, which offers giant sensing area, faster response, and higher sensitivity over the planar sensor configuration. Mass sensitivity higher than 103 Hz cm2/ng is achieved. In order to study the feasibility of the nano-TFBAR for biosensing, the nanostructured ZnO surfaces were functionalized to selectively immobilize␣DNA, as verified by hybridization with its fluorescence-tagged DNA complement.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the NSF (ECS-0224166), New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (NJCST) with the Research Excellence Center Grant, and AFOSR’s DCT Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Ying Chen, Pavel I. Reyes, Ziqing Duan, Gaurav Saraf, Richard Wittstruck & Yicheng Lu

  2. Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    Olena Taratula & Elena Galoppini

Authors
  1. Ying Chen
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  2. Pavel I. Reyes
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  3. Ziqing Duan
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  4. Gaurav Saraf
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  5. Richard Wittstruck
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  6. Yicheng Lu
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  7. Olena Taratula
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  8. Elena Galoppini
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Correspondence to Yicheng Lu.

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Chen, Y., Reyes, P.I., Duan, Z. et al. Multifunctional ZnO-Based Thin-Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator for Biosensors. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 1605–1611 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0813-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0813-4

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