Validation and Characterization of Micro Gas Analyzer for Enhanced Gas Detection

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Quality of indoor air is strongly affected by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which pose a serious healthrisk even at very low concentrations (usually at part-per-billion, ppb, range). Solid-state chemical sensors thatare typically made of highly engineered inexpensive materials are quite sensitive to VOCs and are easy tofabricate. However, the biggest challenges are selectivity to a particular target gas or cross-sensitivity.In collaboration with our industry partner, Alphatron technology, we plan to develop a novel nanotechnologybased intelligent sensor systems for selective and sensitive monitoring of particular VOCs fordemand-controlled ventilation in indoor environments. This will be achieved by employing novelnanomaterials in well-defined structures, activated by thermal and radiation energy as well as operating sensorsystems in optimized conditions for enhanced performance.Two different classes of semiconductor gas-sensing material will be studied: 1) The material developed byAlphatron technology, activated by thermal energy, and 2) The new sensing materials synthesized by UBCresearch team activated by UV radiation emitted from LEDs.Sensor systems developed in this research combined with a comprehensive user interface for indoor air qualityis expected to find a considerable market in North America and beyond, especially if the systems are intuitiveand available at low cost.