Implementation of Surface Acoustic Wave Vapor Sensor Using Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Amplifiers

Abstract

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) vapor sensor is presented in this work. A SAW delay line oscillator on quartz substrate with the high gain complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) amplifier using a two-poly–two-metal (2P2M) 0.35 µm process was designed. The gain of the CMOS amplifier and its total power consumption are 20 dB and 70 mW, respectively. The achieved phase noise of this SAW oscillator is -150 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset. The sensing is successfully demonstrated by a thin poly(epichlorohydrin) (PECH) polymer film on a SAW oscillator with alcohol vapor. This two-in-one sensor unit includes the SAW device and the CMOS amplifier provides designers with comprehensive model for using these components for sensor circuit fabrication. Furthermore it will be promising for future chemical and biological sensing applications.