Design of a Love wave mode device for use in a microfabricated glucose sensor

This paper presents a SiO 2 /AT-cut quartz Love wave delay line device that have been designed as the transducing element of a glucose biosensor. This delay line device is characterized using a three dimensional (3D) finite element model, which is combined with analytical calculations based on the dispersion equation. It is found that the 3D model with periodic boundary conditions showed good agreement with an equivalent model based on symmetric boundary conditions while consuming less computational power. Besides optimization of the guiding layer thickness and the geometrical parameters of the interdigital transducer, the biosensor phase mass sensitivities are estimated to be 990 cm 2 /g. This is sufficient to perform a direct detection of glucose interacting with the functionalized surface of the Love wave mode device.