Resilient PCB Interconnect for Piezoelectric Sensor Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Piezoelectric resonator sensors face limitations in sensitivity due to their relatively low oscillating frequencies, which restrict their ability to detect small quantities of materials effectively, and existing electrical connections in these systems are not robust enough to withstand multiple connections and environmental exposures.
Innovation Solution
An interconnect device with a printed circuit board (PCB) that forms a resiliently deflectable element, allowing for a robust and durable electrical connection through a connector with a connecting pin, which can deflect the PCB to establish and maintain contact, ensuring reliable coupling between components while preventing environmental exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional electrical connections are used in piezoelectric resonator systems, then the system structure is simple, but the connections are not robust enough to withstand multiple connections and environmental exposures
Solution Approach 1:
The PCB incorporates a resiliently deflectable element that can dynamically adapt to connection forces. This element bends elastically during connector engagement and maintains continuous contact pressure, providing robust electrical connection that withstands multiple connections and environmental exposures without requiring complex rigid structures
Solution Approach 2:
The resiliently deflectable element functions as a flexible structural component within the PCB. This thin, flexible element provides both mechanical compliance for reliable connection and structural integrity for environmental protection, resolving the contradiction between connection robustness and device complexity
2Measurement precision
If thin-film resonator technology is used, then the resonant frequency increases to 1 GHz, but the sensitivity improvement is limited by the small thickness of the piezoelectric layer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating frequency parameter from conventional MHz ranges to 1 GHz by utilizing thin-film resonator technology. This parameter change enables higher sensitivity for material detection despite the constrained piezoelectric layer thickness, as sensitivity is proportional to the square of the resonance frequency
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 enhances the sensitivity of piezoelectric resonator sensors by enabling high-frequency operations and provides a robust, reliable electrical connection that can withstand multiple connections and environmental challenges, improving the detection of small material quantities and maintaining system integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a substrate that forms a resiliently deflectable element... cause the resiliently deflectable element to deflect when the element contacts the connecting pin
Implementation Method 2
Piezoelectric devices such as thin film bulk acoustic resonators (TFBAR)... When the analyte is contacted with the surface of the resonator, the mass on the surface increases. The changed mass results in changes to the resonance phase, frequency, etc., of the resonator
Implementation Method 3
operate the resonator as an oscillator at its resonant frequency... the oscillation frequency of the resonator is reduced. This change in the oscillation frequency of the resonator... is measured and used to calculate the amount of the material bound
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of an interconnect device and modules and systems that utilize such interconnect device are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, the interconnect device can include a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB can include a substrate forming a resiliently deflectable element, a conductive material disposed on the substrate, and an electrical contact disposed on the resiliently deflectable element and electrically coupled to the conductive material. The interconnect device can also include a connector that includes a connecting pin configured to electrically couple with the electrical contact of the resiliently deflectable element of the PCB and cause the resiliently deflectable element to deflect when the element contacts the connecting pin.