Rayleigh SAW-Assisted SH-SAW Immunosensor on X-Cut 148-Y LiTaO3

In this paper, we describe a shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) immunosensor that utilizes induce agitation by a Rayleigh SAW (R-SAW) on an X-cut 148-Y LiTaO3 substrate. On this substrate, SH-SAWs and R-SAWs with different frequencies can be effectively generated at an interdigital transducer (IDT). First, to consider the power flow angles of SH-SAWs and R-SAWs on this substrate, the 360-MHz delay lines with six different tilt angles were designed and fabricated. From the experiments, an optimal power flow angle of 9° for the SH-SAW on this substrate is obtained. Second, in order to consider the immunoreactions of the SH-SAW immunosensors, a delay line with a tilt angle of 9° was designed and fabricated on this substrate. The delay line, which can generate two SAWs, namely, a 100-MHz SH-SAW and an 88.8-MHz R-SAW, has a propagation area covered with antigens of human serum albumin between transmitting and receiving IDTs. The immunoreactions caused by antigen-antibody binding events on the surface of the delay line were investigated on the basis of the velocity changes of the SH-SAWs for sensing with and without the assistance of an R-SAW. As a result, it was confirmed that the SH-SAW velocity changes due to antigen-antibody reactions can be markedly increased by the assistance of R-SAW agitation.

I. Introduction

Immunoassay-based biosensors have been widely used in many applications, such as flu, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS testing. Currently, immunochromatographic lateral flow strip tests are commonly used but have some disadvantages owing to the visual readout. On the other hand, shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW)-based rapid tests, which have the advantages of quantitativeness, ease of use, miniaturization, and wireless connectivity, have been recently investigated.