openQCM NEXTThe NEXT, in numbers.

An advanced Quartz Crystal Microbalance featuring high-precision nanogram-level mass detection, real-time dissipation monitoring, and integrated thermal control — ideal for material science, chemistry, and biosensing.

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Performance

Noise, overtone by overtone

	n = 1	3	5	7	9
Frequency SD (Δfₙ/n), air Hz	0.83	0.16	0.21	0.38	0.55
Frequency SD (Δfₙ/n), liquid Hz	1.08	1.32	0.63	0.34	1.49
Dissipation SD, air ppm	0.05	0.05	0.07	0.05	0.02
Dissipation SD, liquid ppm	0.36	0.05	0.06	0.12	0.10

5 MHz crystal; the 9th overtone is marked beta. All values measured over 5 minutes at 25 °C (liquid: water) on 11 September 2026, the run shown on the NEXT page; the frequency readout steps by 1 Hz on Δfₙ (1/n Hz on Δfₙ/n), so values below that step describe the quantisation as much as the noise.

Specifications

Sensor

Number of sensors: Single quartz resonator
Quartz sensors: 5 MHz and 10 MHz, 14 mm, wrapped electrode (single-side contact)
Frequency range: 1–50 MHz
Typical mass sensitivity: 1.767 × 10⁻⁸ g·Hz⁻¹·cm⁻² at 5 MHz

Measurement

Electronics interface: Network analyser: AD9851 DDS sweep, AD8302 gain and phase
Quantities: Frequency and dissipation
Overtones: Up to the 9th with 5 MHz crystals (9th in beta), up to the 5th with 10 MHz
Acquisition: All overtones swept in every multiscan cycle, about 1.4 s per overtone (about 7 s for five overtones)

Thermal control

Element: Peltier, heating and cooling
Controller: Thorlabs MTD415T, ±1.5 A
Sensor: 10 kΩ thermistor in the fluidic module
Working range: 25–45 °C (driver nominal 5–45 °C)
Stability: ±0.01 °C

Mechanical

Main case: Aluminium 6061 and nylon PA2200
Heat sink: Flash chrome-plated aluminium
Standard fluidic module: Chrome-plated aluminium shell with PTFE core; FKM (Viton) O-ring
Chamber volume: ~50 µl
Dimensions: 200 × 80 × 40 mm
Weight: ~260 g

Power and data

Electronics: USB, 5 V
Peltier: 5 V, 2.1 A adaptor included; up to 1.6 A
Data: USB serial (COM port)
Software: Python, open source; CSV data