on-chip optical detection of odors

该项目旨在将最近的技术突破：由光学气体传感像素矩阵制成的光学鼻芯片集成到功能原型中。与电子鼻相比，集成在芯片上的光学鼻具有许多优势，例如低功耗要求、鲁棒性、抗电磁场、遥感和较低的价格。设计用于检测空气传播化合物的小型化片上传感器对于便携式和可大规模部署的廉价监测系统至关重要[1-2]。鉴于我们在片上光学器件方面的经验，更具体地说，我们过去开发的光学气体传感器，Odotech需要我们的帮助，以调查片上光学传感器是否可以满足其需求，同时保持令人满意的灵敏度。在最近与Odotech完成的NSERC Engage项目的框架内，我们定制了我们以前开发的光学传感设备，该设备基于专用聚合物基质对气体的可逆吸收。该传感器集成在芯片上，因此体积小，结构紧凑，可以分布在网络中，实现低功耗。我们证明，它可以监测几种挥发性有机化合物（VOCs），如醇，醛，酮，羧酸，胺和芳香族化合物，它以可逆的方式工作，在不同的环境条件下（温度和湿度），它检测浓度的百万分之一（ppm）的顺序。本NSERC INNOV提案的目标是开发一个功能齐全的光学头的原型，包括一个集成光源和检测器的6传感器矩阵。

The project aims at integrating into a functional prototype a recent technological breakthrough: an optical noseon chip made of a matrix of optical gas sensing pixels. Optical noses integrated on chip present numerousadvantages over electronic noses such as low power requirements, robustness, and immunity to electromagneticfields, remote sensing and lower price. Miniaturized on-chip sensor, designed to detect air-borne compounds,are essential for inexpensive monitoring systems that are portable and deployable on a large scale [1-2]. Givenour experience with on-chip optical devices and more specifically optical gas sensors we have developed in thepast, Odotech has required our help to investigate if on-chip optical sensors could answer its needs whileretaining satisfactory sensitivity. Within the frame of a recently completed NSERC Engage project withOdotech, we tailored the optical sensing device we developed previously, which is based on a reversibleabsorption of a gas with a dedicated polymer matrix. The sensor is integrated on chip and is therefore small,compact, and can be distributed in a network enabling low power consumption. We demonstrated that it canmonitor several volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids,amines and aromatics, that it operates in a reversible fashion, under different environmental conditions(temperature and humidity), and that it detects concentrations in the order of parts per million (ppm). Theobjective of this NSERC INNOV proposal is to develop a fully functional prototype of an optical nosecomprising a 6-sensor matrix with integrated light source and detector.