Out-of-plane vibrations of quartz resonators used in quartz crystal microbalance measurements in gas phase

The article reveals that shear-mode quartz crystal resonators, currently used in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements, exhibit an out-of-plane vibration without being in contact with a liquid. Laser assisted CVD was used to deposit carbon-nanoparticles on the surface of a quartz resonator. The in-plane, shear vibration of the quartz resonator, produces a mega-gravity acceleration which induces a sedimentation of the carbon-nanoparticles, while the out-of-plane vibration produces a mega-gravity acceleration, normal to the crystal surface, which induces an expelling of the deposited carbon-nanoparticles. The two opposite effects reveal a complex situation on the quartz resonator surface in QCM measurements.