DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A HIGH-TEMPERATURE QUARTZ-CRYSTAL MICROBALANCE

A high temperature quartz crystal microbalance (HTQCM) was developed in order to extend its application range up to the Curie point (573 degrees C) of the quartz resonators. It is shown that well matched quartz crystal resonators and even better, a dual resonator working in a differential measuring system, can minimize the temperature effect on the measuring signal, allowing mass measurements with an accuracy of 2 x 10(-12) g cm(-2) s(-1). The HTQCM was tested by measuring the sublimation rates of C-60 fullerene in a temperature range of 250 degrees C to 360 degrees C. In addition, the HTQCM was successfully tested during laser induced carbon deposition at a substrate temperature of up to 500 degrees C.