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QCM100- Quartz Crystal Microbalance
Theory and Calibration
This chapter provides a brief introduction to the measurement techniques and
calibration procedures available to QCM100 users, and describes the most
popular theoretical models used to interpret results.
Background
Sauerbrey1 was the first to recognize the potential usefulness of the Quartz
Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technology and demonstrate the extremely sensitive
nature of these piezoelectric devices towards mass changes at the surface of
QCM electrodes. The results of his work are embodied in the Sauerbrey
equation, which relates the mass change per unit area at the QCM electrode
surface to the observed change in oscillation frequency of the crystal:
f = - Cf . m (equation 1)
where,
f - the observed frequency change, in Hz,
m - the change in mass per unit area, in g/cm2, and
Cf - the sensitivity factor for the crystal used (i.e. 56.6 Hz