Shear mode AlN thin film electroacoustic resonator for biosensor applications

A thin film thickness excited shear acoustic wave resonator is presented. Utilizing a newly developed reactive sputtering process AlN thin films with inclined c-axis relative to the surface normal with a mean tilt of around 30 degrees are successfully grown. Using the above process, a biosensor consisting of a shear mode thin film bulk acoustic resonator (TFBAR) and a microfluidic transport system was fabricated. The biosensor operation in water, glycerol and albumin was characterised. The resonator had a resonance frequency of around 1.2 GHz and a Q value in water of around 150. The results demonstrate clearly the potential of FBAR biosensors for the fabrication of highly sensitive low cost biosensors, bioanalytical tools as well as for liquid sensing in general.