Acoustic Wave Sensor Interrogation With Adaptive IQ Weighting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Acoustic wave sensors face challenges in interrogation due to radiofrequency noise in ISM bands, leading to reading and interpretation errors that affect the quality of response spectra, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratios.
Innovation Solution
An interrogation device is developed with a transmission and reception antenna system, along with processing means that determine in-phase and quadrature components of the response radiofrequency signal, applying norms and weighting functions to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, specifically through calculating moduli and applying adaptive weighting processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional electronic circuit board fabrication techniques are used, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but the sensors cannot be exposed to the analyte environment for detection
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor array is segmented into individual sensor elements that can be independently exposed to the analyte environment through through-holes in the substrate, while maintaining standardized fabrication processes for the circuit board itself
Solution Approach 2:
A substrate acts as an intermediary layer that provides mechanical support and electrical connections while allowing analyte access through through-holes, decoupling the manufacturing constraints from the detection requirements
2Manufacturing precision
If standard printed circuit board processes are used, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but sensor performance degrades due to stress from substrate expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate material parameters are selected to match the thermal expansion coefficient of the piezoelectric material, reducing stress during temperature cycling while maintaining compatibility with standard PCB fabrication processes
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate is designed with compensating stress features that preemptively counteract thermal expansion forces before they can degrade sensor performance during operation
3Adaptability or versatility
If through-holes are created in the substrate for analyte access, then sensor adaptability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The through-hole formation process is merged with existing PCB fabrication steps such as drilling and plating, so that analyte access features are created during standard manufacturing without adding separate complex processes
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly increases the signal-to-noise ratio, enabling more accurate determination of ambient parameters like temperature, pressure, or strain by improving the processing of response signals from acoustic wave sensors.
Implementation Method 1
The sensors are formed from a piezoelectric material and are arranged in an array on the substrate
Implementation Method 2
Interrogation of acoustic wave sensors by microwaves can provide information about the mass or environment of the sensors
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to an interrogation device (20) for interrogating an acoustic wave sensor (10), comprising a transmission antenna (21) configured for transmitting an interrogation radiofrequency signal to the acoustic wave sensor; a reception antenna (22) configured for receiving a response radiofrequency signal from the acoustic wave sensor; and a processing means (24) configured for determining the in-phase components I and the quadrature components Q of the received response radiofrequency signal in each of N consecutive frames of the response radiofrequency signal, N being an integer larger than 1, wherein each of the N frames comprises X sampling points; determining the moduli IYI of each of the pairs of the determined in-phase components I and the quadrature components Q; determining a first norm M based on the determined moduli IYI; determining a first weighting function W based on the determined first norm M and the determined moduli IYI; determining the in-phase components I and the quadrature components Q of an N+1th frame of the received response radiofrequency signal, the N+1th frame comprising X sampling points of the received response radiofrequency signal; determining the moduli JYJ of each of the pairs of the determined in-phase components I and the quadrature components Q of the N+1th frame; and applying the first weighting function W to the determined moduli JYJ of the received response radiofrequency signal in the N+1th frame to obtain weighted moduli Y w of the received response radiofrequency signal for the N+1th frame.