Designs and Applications of Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors for Biological and Chemical Sensing and Sample Handling

Acoustic wave sensors have proven useful in many fields as primarily mass sensitive devices capable of responding to small environmental perturbations. The focus of this dissertation is the development of a new type of surface acoustic wave device with application to material property measurement, and biological and chemical sensing. This device is a combination of three independent acoustic wave devices with these waves propagated across the same area, while retaining independence of actuation and sensor function. The development of a complete sensor system, and its use and operation are presented for several example cases of chemical and biomarker sensing, and sample manipulation. These include experimental and theoretical studies for organic vapor sensing, biological moiety sensing, acoustic streaming to remove loosely bound material, and optimization of designs for these applications