Laser micromachining of lithium niobate based resonant sensors towards medical devices applications

This paper presents a micromachining process for lithium niobate (LiNbO ₃) material for the rapid prototyping of a resonant sensor design for medical devices applications. Laser micromachining was used to fabricate samples of lithium niobate material. A qualitative visual check of the surface was performed using scanning electron microscopy. The surface roughness was quantitatively investigated using an optical surface profiler. A surface roughness of 0.526 µm was achieved by laser micromachining. The performance of the laser-micromachined sensor has been examined in different working environments and different modes of operation. The sensor exhibits a Quality-factor (Q-factor) of 646 in a vacuum; and a Q-factor of 222 in air. The good match between the modelling and experimental results shows that the laser-micromachined sensor has a high potential to be used as a resonance biosensor.