- Limitations
- References
The Sauerbrey equation was developed by the German Günter Sauerbrey in 1959, while working on his doctoral thesis at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. It is a method for correlating changes in the oscillation frequency of a piezoelectric crystal with the mass deposited on it. He simultaneously developed a method for measuring the characteristic frequency and its changes by using the crystal as the frequency determining component of an oscillator circuit. His method continues to be used as the primary tool in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) experiments for conversion of frequency to mass and is valid in nearly all applications.
The equation is derived by treating the deposited mass as though it were an extension of the thickness of the underlying quartz.[1][2] Because of this, the mass to frequency correlation (as determined by Sauerbrey’s equation) is largely independent of electrode geometry. This has the benefit of allowing mass determination without calibration, making the set-up desirable from a cost and time investment standpoint.
The Sauerbrey equation is defined as:
.
Equation 1 – Sauerbrey’s equation
– Resonant frequency (Hz)
– Frequency change (Hz)
– Mass change (g)
– Piezoelectrically active crystal area (Area between electrodes, cm2)
– Density of quartz (
– Shear modulus of quartz for AT-cut crystal (
Because the film is treated as an extension of thickness, Sauerbrey’s equation only applies to systems in which the following three conditions are met: the deposited mass must be rigid, the deposited mass must be distributed evenly and the frequency change 
< 0.05.[3]
If the change in frequency is greater than 5%, that is, > 0.05, the Z-match method must be used to determine the change in mass.[2]
The formula for the Z-match method is:[2]
Equation 2 – Z-match method
– Frequency of loaded crystal (Hz)
– Frequency of unloaded crystal, i.e. Resonant frequency (Hz)
– Frequency constant for AT-cut quartz crystal (1.668x1013Hz·Å)
– Z-Factor of film material
– Density of the film (Varies: units are g/cm3)
– Shear modulus of film (Varies: units are g·cm−1·s−2)
Limitations
The Sauerbrey equation was developed for oscillation in air and only applies to rigid masses attached to the crystal. It has been shown that quartz crystal microbalance measurements can be performed in liquid, in which case a viscosity related decrease in the resonant frequency will be observed:
where 
is the density of the liquid and 
is the viscosity of the liquid.
References
2. ^1 2 3 {{cite |title=QCM100 – Quartz Crystal Microbalance Theory and Calibration |publisher=Stanford Research Systems / Lambda Photometrics Limited |url=https://www.lambdaphoto.co.uk/pdfs/SRS/LAMBDA_Quartz%20Crystal%20Microbalance%20Theory.pdf |access-date=2019-02-27 |dead-url=no |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227094411/https://www.lambdaphoto.co.uk/pdfs/SRS/LAMBDA_Quartz%2520Crystal%2520Microbalance%2520Theory.pdf |archive-date=2019-02-27}}
3. ^1 {{cite journal |title=Quartz-crystal microbalance study for characterizing atomic oxygen in plasma ash tools |author-first1=Aseem Kumar |author-last1=Srivastava |author-first2=Palanikumaran |author-last2=Sakthivel |journal=Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=97–100 |date=January–February 2001 |doi=10.1116/1.1335681 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249508454 |access-date=2019-02-27}}
}}
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