FEA calculations on the Lateral Field Electroded sensor

Lateral Field Electroded (LFE) sensors may be used to measure the permittivity and conductivity (electrical properties) of liquids in contact with the surface opposite the electroded side. Our previous Finite Element Analysis (FEA) calculations studied these devices for the two quartz boundary conditions of surface-charge-free and grounded. Those results helped sort out which thickness-shear modes were involved. This work expands the calculations to model the effects of changes in the dielectric and conductivity properties of the liquid. Results are presented for the effects of changing either just the dielectric constant or changing the conductivity of water. The calculated results are compared with available experimental results for both 10 MHz plano-plano blanks and 6 MHz plano-convex blanks.