Nanoscaled Piezoelectric Aluminum Nitride Contour- Mode Resonant Sensors

This paper reports on a new class of nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant sensors (CMR-S) that have been developed for the gravimetric detection of volatile organic chemicals (VOC). The use of the CMR-S and its scaling for the making of large arrays of detectors is justified in terms of the superior sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD ~ zg/μm2) that this technology attains with respect to any other available acoustic device. The choice of a novel functionalization layer based on ss-DNA is introduced as an effective way to selectively detect multiple VOCs without altering the electromechanical characteristics of the resonator. Experimental results confirming the advantages of scaling the device dimensions and its frequency of operation in terms of improved LOD and measurement speed are presented. Furthermore, preliminary data showing selective detection of dymethyl-methylphosphonate (DMMP) and dinitroluene (DNT) (with LOD in the order of ppt) are reported.