Integral array of acoustic sensors for micro-liter liquid discrimination

It is shown experimentally that the sensing properties of normal acoustic waves propagating in a piezoelectric plate are sensitive to the mass load and the viscosity and electric conductivity of a liquid deposited on the plate. The sensing properties depend on (a) the direction of propagation, (b) the mode number for each direction, and (c) the plate thickness normalized to the acoustic wavelength for each mode and each direction. Based on these properties, a prototype of an acoustic liquid sensor array with different patterns of selectivity is developed and tested. The sensors are located on a single plane of a piezoelectric plate and do not use any sorbent film for sensing. The array is capable of identifying types and sorts of liquids according to their physical effects on the absorption of normal waves with different numbers. The total number of acoustic responses is presented in the form of histograms that are acoustic images of the analyzed substances’ flavors. Having no sorbent film improves the reliability and long-term consistency of sensing.