Patent ID: 8524501

Claim:
A chemical analysis system for detecting, identifying, and/or characterizing at least one target chemical species, comprising: a frequency-differentiated cantilevered probe array comprising a plurality of cantilevered probes, each cantilevered probe comprising: a piezoelectric layer including a piezoelectric material that drives and senses the motion of the cantilevered probe; a treated section, wherein the treated sections of the plurality of cantilevered probes are different from one another and include a chemical-sensitive coating material; a first electrode electrically coupled to the piezoelectric layer; and a second electrode electrically coupled to the piezoelectric layer; a first electrical lead electrically coupled to a first electrode of at least one of the plurality of cantilevered probes and in electrical communication with the first electrode of each of the plurality of cantilevered probes; a second electrical lead electrically coupled to a second electrode of at least one of the plurality of cantilevered probes and in electrical communication with the second electrode of each of the plurality of cantilevered probes; an interface circuit electrically coupled to the first and second electrical leads and configured to actuate the cantilevered probes; a sensing circuit electrically coupled to the first and second electrical leads; and wherein the cantilevered probes are actuated when, through the first and second leads, a drive voltage is applied to the piezoelectric layer by the interface circuit thus generating an electrical response transmitted to the sensing circuit and at least one cantilevered probe in the array exhibits a shifted electrical response when the cantilevered probe array is exposed to the target chemical species.