Photonic Nose: Toward System-On-Chip Optical Gas and Odor Sensing

气体和气味传感在能源工业、医疗保健、食品安全、安全、国防和环境保护中发挥着关键作用，但由于对灵敏度和选择性的严格要求，它仍然是一个巨大的挑战。那么，为什么不从我们的鼻子中学习，因为我们的鼻子已经被数百万年的进化完善了。哺乳动物的嗅觉系统被公认为能够识别大量空气中的分子，远远好于大多数人工传感器。该项目的目标是通过模仿哺乳动物的嗅觉系统来开发一种生物启发的光子鼻(P-NOSE)系统，这将使超紧凑的光学气体和气味传感技术具有超高的灵敏度和特异度。这项研究将为推进生物启发系统的一线研究并超越现有的台式光学气体传感技术进入系统芯片级别提供一条独特的途径，以实现广泛的工程应用。这项研究和教育的协同作用将通过加强纳米光子技术的课程使俄勒冈州立大学的研究生和本科生受益，通过利用俄亥俄州立大学美国光学学会学生分会的暑期研究项目扩大未被充分代表的少数群体的参与，并使用多学科方法在以技术为基础的企业中教育和发展未来的高科技企业家。本项目的目标是通过模仿哺乳动物的嗅觉系统来研究一种受生物启发的光子鼻系统，这将使系统芯片上的光学气体和气味传感技术具有超高的灵敏度和特异性。哺乳动物的嗅觉系统被公认为能够识别大量空气中的分子，远远好于大多数人工传感器。哺乳动物嗅觉系统的超高灵敏度和特异度来自两个关键机制：1)鼻腔内具有较大表面积(70 Cm2)的粘膜，以捕捉微量的气体和气味分子；2)大约400个不同的嗅觉感受器神经元的组合反应，以感知超过1万种气味。拟建的仿生P-Nose系统将整合PI在纳米材料和光子器件方面的最新研究突破：1)纳米多孔金属-有机骨架材料，作为高效和选择性的气体和气味吸收剂模拟鼻腔内的黏膜；2)窄带等离子过滤器阵列，具有超高检测灵敏度，类似于嗅觉感受器神经元，用于探测各种气体和气味分子的指纹红外吸收光谱。本项目最后将展示一种全系统片上光学气体和气味传感技术，在近红外波长范围内同时检测包括二氧化碳、甲烷和挥发性有机化合物在内的多种气体。智力意义：超紧凑型气体和气味传感器在许多工程应用中发挥着关键作用。最先进的技术由电子鼻主导，电子鼻依赖于由金属氧化物和导电聚合物制成的阵列电子气传感器，缺乏灵敏度和特异性。与现有的电子鼻技术相比，提出的仿生光子鼻探测指纹红外光谱，有望在检测灵敏度、特异度、传感时间、功耗以及在爆炸性气体环境、辐射或高电场/磁场等极端条件下工作的能力方面带来革命性的影响。这种受生物启发的光子鼻概念最终可以通过将芯片规模的纳米光子器件与新兴的纳米多孔材料相结合来实现，并将开辟一条具有气体捕获、传感、光谱和模式识别等全功能的片上系统光学气体传感的新途径。

Gas and odor sensing plays pivotal roles in energy industry, healthcare, food safety, security, defense, and environmental protection, but it still remains a grand challenge given the stringent requirement of sensitivity and selectivity. So why not learning from our noses that have been perfected by millions of years of evolution. The mammalian olfactory system is well recognized for its ability to identify a large number of airborne molecules, far better than most artificial sensors. The objective of this project is to develop a bio-inspired photonic nose (P-nose) system by mimicking the mammalian olfactory system, which will enable ultra-compact optical gas and odor sensing technology with ultra-high sensitivity and specificity. This research will point out a unique way to advance the frontline research of bio-inspired systems and transcend existing bench-top optical gas sensing technology into system-on-chip level for a broad spectrum of engineering applications. The synergy of this research and education will benefit graduate and undergraduate students at the Oregon State University by enhancing the curricula of nanophotonic technology, broaden the participation of under-represented minorities through leveraging the summer research programs of the Student Chapter of the Optical Society of America at OSU, and use a multidisciplinary approach to educate and develop future high-tech entrepreneurs in technology-based ventures. The objective of this project is to investigate a bio-inspired photonic nose system by mimicking the mammalian olfactory system, which will enable system-on-chip optical gas and odor sensing technology with ultra-high sensitivity and specificity. The mammalian olfactory system is well recognized for its ability to identify a large number of airborne molecules, far better than most artificial sensors. The ultra-high sensitivity and specificity of the mammalian olfactory system come from two critical mechanisms: 1) the mucous membrane inside the nasal cavity with large surface areas (70cm2) to capture trace level of gas and odorant molecules; and 2) a combinatorial response of about four hundred different olfactory receptor neurons to sense more than ten thousand types of odorant. The proposed biomimetic P-nose system will integrate the PIs' recent research breakthroughs in both nanomaterials and photonic devices: 1) nanoporous metal-organic framework materials as highly efficient and selective gas and odorant absorbents mimicking the mucous membrane inside the nasal cavity; and 2) narrow-band plasmonic filter array with ultra-high detection sensitivity that is analogue to olfactory receptor neurons to probe the finger-print infrared absorption spectra of various gas and odorant molecules. A fully system-on-chip optical gas and odor sensing technology will be demonstrated at the end of this project to simultaneously detect multiplex gases including CO2, CH4, and volatile organic compounds at the near-infrared wavelength range.Intellectual Significance: Ultra-compact gas and odor sensors play pivotal roles in many engineering applications. State-of-the-art technology is dominant by electronic nose that relies on arrayed electronic gas sensors made of metal-oxides and conductive polymers, which lack sensitivity and specificity. Compared with exiting E-nose techniques, the proposed biomimetic photonic nose probes the finger-print IR spectra and is expected to bring transformative impact in detection sensitivity, specificity, sensing time, power consumption, as well as the capability to work under extreme conditions such as in explosive gas atmosphere, radiation, or high electric/magnetic fields. Such bio-inspired concept of photonic nose can be ultimately implemented by integrating chip-scale nanophotonic devices with emerging nano-porous materials, and will open a new path toward system-on-chip optical gas sensing with full functionalities including gas capture, sensing, spectroscopy, and pattern recognition.