SBIR Phase I: Combustible Gas Microsensor from Self-Organized Nanoporous Ceramic

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发新型高灵敏度和低功耗的可燃气体微型传感器并将其商业化。这一创新是基于具有高热稳定性、机械稳定性和化学稳定性的自组织纳米结构陶瓷。在高比表面积纳米孔网络内沉积催化材料有可能实现高精度、更好的准确性和更长的寿命。纳米结构传感器元件将通过专有的微机械加工技术与低功率微加热器集成。纳米级形态和微加工的新组合将被用来开发能够监测多种可燃气体浓度分布的传感器阵列。这项技术与主流的微制造兼容，可以很容易地放大。该计划将受益于已经在纳米材料研究公司(NRC)运营的设备和传感器材料的纳米和微尺度工程基础设施，以及拥有广泛多学科经验的团队的日常参与，包括传感器产品开发和商业化。拟议的研究可能使新型低成本、低功耗、坚固耐用的气体微型传感器和传感器阵列具有高灵敏度、选择性、快速响应和可再生的可能性。该技术的潜在应用包括使用便携式气体传感器的任何领域：矿山、燃烧和废气监测、空气质量控制、火灾警报、工业过程监测等。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop and commercialize new type of combustible gas microsensors with high sensitivity and low power consumption. The innovation is based on self-organized nanostructured ceramic with high thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability. Deposition of the catalytic material inside the network of high surface area nanoscale pores has a potential to enable high precision, better accuracy, and longer lifetime. Nanostructured sensor element will be integrated with a low power microheater by proprietary micromachining technology. The novel combination of nanoscale morphology and micromachining will be utilized to develop sensor arrays that can monitor concentration profiles of multiple combustible gases. The technology is compatible with mainstream microfabrication, and could be easily scaled up. The program will benefit from the infrastructure for the nano- and micro-scale engineering of materials for devices and sensors that is already operational at the Nanomaterials Research Corporation (NRC) and from day-to-day participation of a team that has extensive multidisciplinary experience including sensor product development and commercialization.Proposed research could enable new types of low cost low power robust gas microsensors and sensor arrays with high sensitivity, selectivity, fast response, and possibility of regeneration. Potential applications of the technology include any area where portable gas sensors are used: mines, combustion and exhaust monitoring, air quality control, fire alarms, industrial processes monitoring, etc.