Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs)
This page lists some groups that do research on QCMS and some companies
that sell QCMs and related products. It is incomplete. If your favorite
researcher or company has been omitted, please feel free to tell
me so.
<To get my e-mail address, replace "at" with "@" & remove the spaces:
christopher e reed at cs . com>
You can find some information about QCMs and terminology
here.
Researchers
-
E. Benes
- Wrote on general theory of multiple layered stacks with one or more
piezoelectric layers. Now developing viscosity sensor.
- Center for Polymer
Interfaces and Macromolecular Assemblies
- Multiple projects; tools include QCM.
- Bengt Kasemo
- Co-founder of Q-Sense.
-
The Materials adherance experiment
- on PAthfinder used used QCMs to measure how dusty Mars is.
Vendors
- Akubio
- They have an interesting way to detect viruses. The viruses bind loosely to
antibodies attached to the QCM surface. At some particular amplitude the viruses are
shaken off. This pings the QCM; quartz is piezoelectric so an electrical signal
results. Single viruses can be detected.
-
AVL
- They make GaPO4 crystals which can be used in thickness monitors like quartz crystals,
but which can work at much higher temperatures.
- California Measurements, Inc.
- QCMs to detect particles and aerosols.
- CH Instruments
- Products include a PC controlled time resolved electrochemical quartz
crystal microbalance (EQCM). The frequency is compared to that of a
reference oscillator.
- Faraday Laboratories
- Products include a cryogenic QCM, thermoelectrically cooled QCM, a QCM
to measure particles & a QCM radiometer. The president claims he, not
Sauerbrey, invented QCMs.
- Fortiming Corporation
- Products include quartz crystals for use in sensors (to be coated by user),
crystals for use with microprocessors, and oscillators for use in communications.
- Initium
- They make 27 MHz QCM sensors that work in a reaction bath. The QCM can be coated with
proteins; as molecules bind to the proteins the QCM's frequency drops.
- International Crystal
Manufacturing
- QCM related products include custom crystals, oscillators, and liquid
flow cells.
- Intellemetrics
- Thin Film Process Control. (Thickness monitors and controllers.)
- Leybold Inficon
- Products include a big line of thickness monitors. Offers "z-match"
algorithm.
- Masscal Corporation
- Their combination QCM / heat conduction calorimeter monitors reactions between gasses and solid films.
- Maxtek
- Products include QCM equipment for electrochemical use.
- Princeton Applied Research
- They sell a QCM designed primarily for electrochemical use.
- QuartzPro AB
- They make crystals and oscillators, including custom orders.
- Quartz Technology Limited
- Products include quartz crystal sensor arrays (sniffers).
- QCM Research
- Products include QCMs for use in space.
- Q-Sense
- Products include QCM that are hit with an electrical impulse after which the
"ring-down" is recorded. This allows both the frequency and the damping
factor to be recorded. Sells equipment for use in liquids.
- Resonant Probes GmbH
- Sells a combined analysis of impedance as a function of driving
frequency of QCM and Surface Plasmon spectrocopy.
- Seiko EG&G
- They apparently sell electrochemical quartz cystal microbalances.
- Sigma Instruments
- Products include thickness monitors and controllers.
- Stanford Research Systems
- Offers a QCM which can be used as an electrochemical QCM, can be used in viscous liquids, and can be used with polymer films.
- Sycon Instruments
- Products include thickness monitors and controllers.
- Tangidyne
- Products include quartz crystals for electrochemical QCMs, liquid monitoring and
thickness monitors, and gallium phospate crystals for high temperature use.
- TechnoBiochip
- Products include electrochemical quartz microbalance, a quartz nanobalance for use
in fluids, and a "nose" based on quartz crystal microbalances.
- Tectra
- Thickness monitors.
-
Testbourne Ltd.
- Thin film deposition monitors, rate controllers, instruments
for monitoring & controlling plating and etching in liquids, and sensor crystals.
- Universal
Sensors Inc.
- They sell quartz crystals with coatings, such as antibodies, that absorb
only particular chemicals. They thus let QCMs become sensitive detectors
of those chemicals
- ValpeyFisher
- Products include many kinds of crystals including quartz crystals.
Offers information on quartz resonators and other topics after log-in.
This page was changed on July 14, 2006.
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