Design of SH-Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors for
Detection of ppb Concentrations of BTEX in Water
Florian Bender and Fabien Josse Rachel E. Mohler
Department of EECE Chevron Energy Technology Co.
Marquette University 100 Chevron Way
Milwaukee, WI 53233 Richmond, CA 94801
fabien.josse@mu.edu
Abstract—To address the need to protect public health from
contamination of drinking water and water for recreational use,
a compact sensor system for in-situ detection of fuel and oil
components in water is being investigated. The system makes use
of shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) sensors
coated with thin chemically sensitive polymer films. For this
work, the BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene,
and xylenes) were selected as target analytes because they are
good indicators of fuel and oil releases, but also because they
include known carcinogens (benzene, ethylbenzene). Chemical
selectivity is achieved by combining sensors with various polymer
coatings into a sensor array, and by evaluating both steady-state
and transient response information. This work focuses on the
influence of interdigital transducer (IDT) design on signal
distortion and rms (root-mean-square) noise level. It is
demonstrated that for suitable IDT design and experimental
approach, it is possible to detect all BTEX compounds at
concentration levels of 100 ppb or below, and to quantify benzene
concentration in binary analyte mixtures at concentrations well
below 1 ppm.
Keywords—groundwater, surface acoustic wave sensors, liquid-
phase sensing, benzene, rms noise level, multi-electrode interdigital
transducer design
I. INTRODUCTION
The processing, storage and transport of fuel and oil are
often associated with potential environmental hazards. In
particular, places where large amounts of fuel or oil are stored,
such as gas stations, present significant potential threats to
public health through unintentional releases into groundwater
and surface water [1]–[4]. Timely detection of such releases
can minimize the impact on public health and reduce clean-up
costs. However, current monitoring practice is largely based on
collection of samples in the field, transport and subsequent
analysis in the laboratory [3], procedures which can become
very time-consuming for high monitoring frequencies. To
enable frequent or continuous, in-situ monitoring of
groundwater and surface water at critical sites, a number of
suitable sensor systems are under development [5].
Sensor systems based on SH-SAW (shear-horizontal
surface acoustic wave) sensor platforms represent a promising
978-1-4799-0342-9/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 628
Antonio J. Ricco
Department of Electrical
Engineering
Center for Integrated Systems
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
approach for this application. SH-SAWs combine the
advantages of high surface confinement of the acoustic energy
(which facilitates high sensitivity to the analyte) and the ability
to propagate along a solid-liquid interface without suffering
excessive acoustic wave attenuation [6]. In our previous
studies, the performance of the sensors and various coating
materials was investigated under varying environmental
conditions, including changes in temperature, acidity, and
salinity [7]. It was demonstrated that by evaluating both
steady-state and transient response information, this type of
sensor can be used to quantify the concentration of benzene in
binary analyte mixtures in the low ppm concentration range
[8].
The BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene,
and xylenes) were selected as target analytes for this study
because they are good indicators of fuel and oil releases [3],
[4], [9], but also because they include known carcinogens
(benzene, ethylbenzene) [10]. Due to their hazard potential for
public health, legal concentration limits for the BTEX
compounds in drinking water are low, with MCL (maximum
contaminant level) values in the US ranging from 5 ppb (μg/L)
to 10 ppm (mg/L) [5], [11]. Detection of these contaminants at
ppb levels is a challenging task, especially if the concentration
of one BTEX compound has to be quantified in the presence of
similar aromatic compounds.
The BTEX detection challenge is addressed in our work by
evaluating both the steady-state frequency shift and the time-
dependent behavior of the sensor response. We investigated
various polymer materials (≤ 1 μm thick) as sensor coatings
based on their partial selectivities for the analytes of interest
[8]. In order to achieve detection limits for BTEX compounds
in the ppb range, every aspect of the sensor design has to be
evaluated for its potential to minimize rms (root-mean-square)
noise and signal distortion. For this study, 36°-rotated YX-
LiTaO3 was selected as piezoelectric substrate because of its
high dielectric constants [12], permitting immersion of the
entire device surface—including the polymer-coated
interdigital transducers (IDTs)—in water, thus obviating the
need for a gasket on the acoustic delay line, which could lead
to signal distortion. LiTaO3 also has high piezoelectric
constants [12], restricting the number of electrode fingers per
2013 Joint UFFC, EFTF and PFM Symposium
IDT if overcoupling (and consequent signal distortion) is to be
avoided. One solution would be to use a wideband IDT, but
this could lead to overlap between the SH-SAW and
neighboring bulk modes with further adverse consequences for
signal distortion. Therefore, another approach is investigated
here, based on the use of multi-electrode IDTs [13]. In this
way, overcoupling can be avoided by placing many electrode
fingers in antiphase with the acoustic wave. It is demonstrated
that a suitable multi-electrode IDT design leads not only to
better bulk mode suppression and lower phase distortion, but
also has a beneficial effect on rms noise, resulting in lower
detection limits and higher accuracy in analyte quantification
in binary mixtures. In addition, multi-electrode IDTs can be
designed to generate multiple SH-SAWs at different
frequencies in a single delay line, permitting investigation of
frequency-dependent contributions in sensor responses.

II. EXPERIMENTAL
The first of the SH-SAW sensor platforms used in this
work has been described previously [14], [15]. The sorbent
polymers selected as sensor coatings are poly(ethyl acrylate)
(PEA), poly(epichlorohydrin) (PECH), and poly(isobutylene)
(PIB) (all from Sigma-Aldrich). Sorbent polymers were
deposited from solution by spin coating and baked for 15 min
at 55 °C, resulting in thicknesses ranging from 0.55 to 1.0 μm
as indicated below. All sensor platforms utilize a dual-delay-
line design, with the second line coated with poly(methyl
methacrylate) (Scientific Polymer Products) and baked for 120
min at 180 °C, resulting in a glassy, non-sorbent coating. The
purpose of this reference line is to compensate for the influence
of temperature drifts and other secondary effects. All BTEX
analytes had purities of 98.5% or higher.
The experimental set-up used a network analyzer (Agilent
E5061B; the 16-fold data averaging function was activated)
and a switch/control system (Agilent 34980A) to switch
between the two SH-SAW delay lines. The sensor was placed
inside a flow cell made in-house, and the peristaltic pump
(Ismatec Reglo Digital MS-CA4/12-100) was set to a sample
flow rate of 7 μL/s. Switching between different samples was
accomplished without interruption of sample flow in order to
avoid any resulting signal distortions. The flow cell and
samples were set up inside a box, simulating an environment
similar to a groundwater monitoring well, and measurements
were conducted at room temperature (22.0 ± 0.1 °C). All data
shown are corrected for linear baseline drift.
Fig. 1: Mode spectra (in air) for SH-SAW sensors with Se = 4 (a) and
Se = 12 (b). Sensors were coated with 0.5 μm PMMA. Insets are
schematics of the IDT electrode patterns (only part of the IDT is shown).
passband. The latter design has a lower bandwidth, but the
larger number of electrode fingers leads to stronger acoustic
wave reflections and phase distortions, and the coupling of
unwanted bulk modes is also enhanced. The mode spectrum of
the LIDT = 44P design is shown in Fig. 1a for a polymer-coated
device. The highest peak (at 103 MHz) is the SH-SAW; it is
followed by a series of bulk modes.
A solution of the above dilemma is offered by multi-
electrode IDT designs [13] where a number of the electrode
fingers are deliberately placed in anti-phase with the acoustic
wave in order to reduce overall mode coupling. This allows the
combination of a narrow IDT bandwidth with low bulk mode
coupling and modest acoustic reflections. As an example, Fig.
1b shows the mode spectrum and IDT pattern for a SH-SAW
device with Se = 12. In this case, a series of SH-SAW modes is
obtained with frequencies which are multiples of 34 MHz. This
IDT design also leads to a lower wave reflection and better
triple-transit echo suppression, a more symmetrical passband,
and lower phase distortion. The latter is illustrated in Fig. 2.
While the relationship between phase linearity and rms
noise level is not a straightforward one, it was experimentally
observed that the IDT design giving the lowest phase distortion
also gave the lowest rms noise level. This is shown in Fig. 3.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In previous studies, a 103-MHz SH-SAW sensor device has
successfully been used to detect BTEX compounds in the ppm
concentration range [7], [8], [14], [15]. This device used an
IDT pattern with four electrode fingers per electrical period (Se
= 4), schematically illustrated in the inset of Fig. 1a. Two
versions of this device were fabricated which differed in their
bandwidths; one used an IDT length of 29 electrical periods
(LIDT = 29P), the other design used LIDT = 44P. While the
former shows relatively low phase distortion and good bulk Fig. 2: Phase deviation (from linear phase) for SH-SAW sensors with
mode and sidelobe rejection, the large bandwidth leads to Se = 4 (—) and Se = 12 (- -). Sensors were coated with 0.5 μm PMMA and
immersed in water.
larger overlap between the SH-SAW and adjacent bulk modes
and results in a significant asymmetry of the SH-SAW

629 2013 Joint UFFC, EFTF and PFM Symposium


Fig. 3: Baseline noise levels for the 103-MHz SH-SAW mode for
devices with Se = 4 (a) and Se = 12 (b). Sensors were coated with 1.0 μm
PEA and immersed in water (flow rate: 7 μL/s).
For the Se = 4 IDT design, a rms noise level of 25.9 Hz was
calculated for a 1.0 μm PEA coating and the same flow rate
used in BTEX detection. (Note that such a relatively thick
coating of a rubbery polymer will slightly increase the rms
noise level but also will enhance the quantity of BTEX sorbed).
For the Se = 12 IDT design, under the same conditions an rms
noise level of only 10.7 Hz was found. For a 0.6 μm PECH
coating and Se = 12 IDT design, the rms noise level was further
reduced to 7.1 Hz (data not shown).
In order to evaluate the performance of the improved SH-
SAW sensor devices in BTEX detection, measurements were
conducted on detection of single analytes and binary analyte
mixtures in the concentration range of 100 ppb to 1 ppm.
Sample data are shown in Fig. 4; it clearly demonstrates that
benzene can be detected at a concentration as low as 200 ppb.
From these measurements, the detection limits listed in Table I
have been calculated using the relation: detection limit = 3 ×
rms noise / sensitivity. Note that xylene and ethylbenzene are
chemical isomers and thus will give nearly identical
sensitivities; therefore, only ethylbenzene is listed. As
expected, the detection limits approximately follow the trend in
analyte solubilities. In all cases, analytes can be detected at less
than 10-4 of their saturation concentration in water.
Fig. 4 also shows several responses to binary mixtures.
Assuming the sensor responses to multiple analytes in a sample
Fig. 4: Response of a SH-SAW device (103-MHz mode) with Se = 4
and a 0.6 μm PECH coating to various benzene samples and binary
mixtures. Analyte concentrations are given in the graph.
630
TABLE I. EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINED DETECTION LIMITS (3 × RMS
NOISE LEVEL / SENSITIVITY) FOR SH-SAW SENSORS WITH SE = 12 FOR
SIX COATING/ANALYTE COMBINATIONS.
Solubility Detection Limit (ppb)
Analyte
(ppm) [16] 1.0 μm PEA 0.6 μm PECH
Benzene 1780 100 100
Toluene 531 35 33
Ethylbenzene 161 11 9
are additive in the concentration ranges investigated [8] and
that the transient response to a step change in analyte
concentration is approximately exponential with time, the
response to a binary mixture can be modeled using a dual-
exponential fit, whereby the response times and sensitivities for
the two analytes in the mixture can be taken from single-
analyte measurements. This allows an estimation of the
concentrations of two analytes in a mixture using a single
sensor device simply by evaluating the transient response
information. As an example, for the responses to binary
mixtures in Fig. 4, analyte concentrations estimated using dual-
exponential fits of the measured data are presented in Table II
and compared to nominal (actual) concentrations. Note that the
manual sample mixing procedure will introduce slight error in
analyte concentrations. Nevertheless, there is a good agreement
between nominal and estimated concentration for benzene.
Even better agreement is observed for toluene (because of the
higher sensitivity for this analyte).
The above results illustrate the detection limit in single-
analyte detection and the accuracy in binary mixture analysis
that can be achieved using the multi-electrode sensor platform
designs. Another advantage of multi-electrode IDT designs is
the presence of multiple SH-SAW passbands [13], which can
be used for analysis of frequency-dependent effects in a single
measurement with a single device. As an example, Fig. 5
shows the response of a SH-SAW device with Se = 20 to 5 ppm
benzene. The basic SH-SAW frequency for this device is 41
MHz; the responses of the 2nd to 4th SH-SAW harmonics to the
same sample are shown at 82, 123, and 164 MHz.
To facilitate a more detailed analysis, the exact steady-state
frequency shifts for this measurement are listed in Table III.
The dependence of the observed frequency shifts on mode
frequency contains a contribution from Sauerbrey-type mass
loading [17]. Since all SH-SAW modes are propagating along
the same delay line and will be exposed to the same amount of
mass loading, this contribution is expected to give a Δf ∝ f 2
dependence, where f is the device operating frequency. But the
last column of Table III reveals significant additional
contributions for the higher harmonics. This can be explained
TABLE II. NOMINAL ANALYTE CONCENTRATIONS FOR THE FIRST
THREE SENSOR RESPONSES (TO BINARY MIXTURES) IN FIG. 4, AND
CONCENTRATIONS ESTIMATED USING DUAL-EXPONENTIAL FITS.
Benzene Conc. (ppb) Toluene Conc. (ppb)
Sample
nominal fit nominal fit
#1 1000 1200 500 690
#2 500 810 1000 1110
#3 1000 1280 1000 990
2013 Joint UFFC, EFTF and PFM Symposium

Fig. 5: Response of a SH-SAW device with Se = 20 to 5 ppm benzene,
shown for three different SH-SAW modes with frequencies indicated in
the graph. The device was coated with 0.55 μm PEA.
by the higher ratio of waveguide thickness to wavelength for
the higher modes, resulting in more efficient waveguiding and
a corresponding increase in mass sensitivity for SH-SAW
devices [15], [18]. Another contribution is from viscoelastic
effects, which would also be expected to result in increased
frequency shifts for higher ratios of waveguide thickness to
wavelength [7], [14], [19].
IV. CONCLUSIONS
In chemical sensor applications, for a high-coupling
piezoelectric material like LiTaO3, use of the standard double-
finger (Se = 4) IDT leads to a dilemma: use of a wideband IDT
will result in significant overlap of adjacent mode passbands;
use of a narrowband IDT will lead to overcoupling and
increased acoustic wave reflections. Thus, both alternatives
will lead to significant signal distortions. It was demonstrated
that the use of multi-electrode IDTs solves this issue, and
narrowband SH-SAW modes can be obtained with high phase
linearity, low acoustic wave reflection, and good sidelobe and
bulk mode suppression.
It was observed that properly designed multi-electrode
IDTs also result in significantly lower rms noise levels, with
beneficial effects for BTEX detection in water including lower
detection limits and higher accuracy in binary mixture analysis,
as well as improved reproducibility. In addition, multi-
electrode IDTs produce spectra of SH-SAW harmonics which
permit investigation of frequency-dependent contributions in
sensor responses using a single device in a single
measurement. This option can also be useful in a sensor array
since it permits collection of information from a larger number
of input parameters using a compact sensor platform.
TABLE III. STEADY-STATE FREQUENCY SHIFTS, -Δf, FOR THE SENSOR
RESPONSES SHOWN IN FIG. 5. A FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE STRONGER
2
THAN Δf ∝ f IS OBSERVED.
Mode -Δf (Hz) (f/f2)2 Δf/Δf2
f2 = 82 MHz 280 1 1
f3 = 123 MHz 930 2.25 3.32
f4 = 164 MHz 2600 4 9.29
631
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Karen A. Synowiec and
Urmas Kelmser for helpful discussion.
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2013 Joint UFFC, EFTF and PFM Symposium