New multiplexed optical read-out technologies for micromachined cantilever sensor arrays

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Passive sensing of chemical and biological agents is an essential capability in fields as diverse as national security, agriculture, mining and medicine. In many cases, generic sensing (e.g. are there pesticides present) as well as specific sensing (which pesticide) are both important. While sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have shown extremely high performance at low cost, they have been limited to detection of a specific substance. Success in this project will make low cost generic MEMS-based sensors a reality, allowing, for the first time, wide-spread use of sensitive sensing systems in applications such as farming, container transport security, general medical practice and national security.