Commercial and Custom Quartz Tuning Forks for Quartz Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy: Stability under Humidity Variation
<p>The frequency response of the shift-free QEPAS signal (black) is represented. It is a Lorentzian curve centered at 32,768 Hz, having a quality factor of 8000. The QEPAS signal reaches a maximum value at <span class="html-italic">f = f</span><sub>0</sub>. The frequency response is also shown for a frequency shift of 0.28 Hz (green) and Q-factor reduction of 80 (blue). The two curves intersect (red dot) at <span class="html-italic">f = f</span><sub>0</sub>, corresponding to a 1% QEPAS signal error as calculated.</p> "> Figure 2
<p>From left to right a sample of each QTF is presented: AV-08, T1-08, commercial.</p> "> Figure 3
<p>Measured QTF parameters as a function of the excitation frequency (<b>a</b>) and the excitation amplitude (<b>b</b>). The hatched areas correspond to the target accuracy and the error bars to the standard deviation. The excitation time t<sub>exc</sub> is set to 200 ms to ensure the QTF is at steady state before the onset of the relaxation.</p> "> Figure 4
<p>Frequency and quality factor measurement for different humidity steps with a fixed temperature of 22 °C. Humidity and temperature data were collected from the humidity chamber software. Variation of <span class="html-italic">f</span><sub>0</sub> and Q were measured with a LabVIEW program. (<b>a</b>) commercial QTF, (<b>b</b>) AV-08 and (<b>c</b>) T1-08. The time constant of the LIA was set to 1 ms for proper BF demodulation. The study of <span class="html-italic">f</span><sub>0</sub> and Q variation for different steps of humidity was performed in two conditions described in blue and orange dashed lines (<a href="#sensors-23-03135-f004" class="html-fig">Figure 4</a>a).</p> ">
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- Follow the f0 and Q evolution in real time and operate a feedback correction on the optical and electrical setup, i.e., on the modulation of the laser and the LIA parameters.
- Reduce their influence by maintaining their variations in a given controlled range.
2. Important QTF Parameters to Evaluate in QEPAS Sensing: Estimation of the Required Accuracy on f0 and Q
3. Experimental Setup and Results
- The sinewave was used to electrically excite the QTF (during texc).
- The excitation was stopped.
- The relaxation signal was recorded on a LabVIEW program.
- Investigating the deviation of f0 and Q during a stabilized value of humidity (arbitrary measured for 70 %RH) as it could be the case in a QEPAS experiment with controlled humidity.
- The difference of the mean values of f0 and Q between 30% and 90 %RH is investigated considering the case of a real-life measurement, where the humidity would increase rapidly.
4. Discussion
- During the measurements presented in Figure 4, the QTF was connected to a metallic support and the support was in mechanical contact with the metallic surface of the humidity chamber. The mechanical vibrations of the support, as well as the air flow generated by the fan present inside the chamber, are possibly the cause of this “degradation” observed in the Q. It was even more pronounced for the custom QTF due to their longer length and thinner thickness. The measurements presented in Figure 3 were performed at a constant humidity level. These measurements were performed before launching the machine, i.e., with the machine’s door open; thus, the conditions of the temperature and humidity inside the chamber are equal to the ambient ones. The dispersion observed in this figure for the chosen parameters (|f0 − fexc| = 20 Hz and Vexc = 100 mVpp) is less significant than that reported during the measurement performed with humidity variations.
- The QTFs were exposed to high levels of humidity. The experiments presented in this paper were conducted at least two times. The surface of the QTFs was observed with a microscope. However, with a magnification down to 100x, no physical degradations of the QTFs were noticed.
- In the investigation of the QTF as a humidity sensor [18], the presence of small water droplets settling on the surface of the prongs due to their roughness was considered. This added non-uniform mass may be the cause of the observed damping.
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Ref QTF | f0 (Hz) | Q | Δf0 (mHz) | ΔQ | Prong Length (mm) | Prong Width (mm) | Prong Spacing (mm) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AV-08 | 3800 | 7500 | 36 | 75 | 16.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
T1-08 | 12,450 | 15,000 | 60 | 150 | Base: 7.0 Head: 2.4 | Base: 1.4 Head: 2.0 | 0.8 |
Commercial | 32,750 | 8000 | 280 | 80 | ~3.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 |
Variation of f0 (Hz) | Variations of Q | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Target | Experimental | Target | Experimental | |||
Calculated for 1% Error | Inter-Step 30–90 %RH | Intra-Step 70 %RH | Calculated for 1% Error | Inter-Step 30–90 %RH | Intra-Step 70 %RH | |
Commercial QTF presented | 0.280 | 3.5 | 0.025 | 80 | 391.5 | 22.7 |
Statistics on commercial QTF | 0.280 | 1.105 ± 1.612 | 0.01 ± 0.01 | 80 | 365.7 ± 393.1 | 19.1 ± 2.8 |
QTF AV-08 A | 0.036 | 0.0055 | 0.0035 | 75 | 10 | 100 |
QTF AV-08 B | 0.036 | 0.0087 | 0.0058 | 75 | 86 | 60 |
QTF T1-08 A | 0.060 | 0.052 | 0.0064 | 150 | 40 | 300 |
QTF T1-08 B | 0.060 | 0.041 | 0.0042 | 150 | 381.7 | 250 |
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Ayache, D.; Rousseau, R.; Kniazeva, E.; Charensol, J.; Seoudi, T.; Bahriz, M.; Gouzi, F.; Spagnolo, V.; Vicet, A. Commercial and Custom Quartz Tuning Forks for Quartz Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy: Stability under Humidity Variation. Sensors 2023, 23, 3135. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063135
Ayache D, Rousseau R, Kniazeva E, Charensol J, Seoudi T, Bahriz M, Gouzi F, Spagnolo V, Vicet A. Commercial and Custom Quartz Tuning Forks for Quartz Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy: Stability under Humidity Variation. Sensors. 2023; 23(6):3135. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063135
Chicago/Turabian StyleAyache, Diba, Roman Rousseau, Elena Kniazeva, Julien Charensol, Tarek Seoudi, Michael Bahriz, Fares Gouzi, Vincenzo Spagnolo, and Aurore Vicet. 2023. "Commercial and Custom Quartz Tuning Forks for Quartz Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy: Stability under Humidity Variation" Sensors 23, no. 6: 3135. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23063135