SBIR Phase I: Laser-based in-exhaust NOx sensor for automotive applications

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响旨在开发一种新型车载传感器，用于检测柴油机废气流中的氮氧化物（NOx），其灵敏度和特异性是现有技术无法满足的。由于缺乏能够区分排气流中的NOx和其他物质的适当的成本效益传感器，柴油发动机制造商目前不能准确地精确控制其排气系统。所提出的传感器可以导致10%的燃油效率提高。 该传感器的大规模使用将减少碳排放，降低空气中NOx引起的烟雾、地面臭氧和酸雨的含量，从而使空气更健康。该项目的智力价值是基于激光吸收光谱的新应用，该应用探测NOx物种的独特光谱吸收指纹，以避免跨物种干扰。该传感器预计将实现比目前广泛部署的电化学传感器低十倍的检测阈值，在苛刻的高温颗粒负载的柴油机排气环境中，其形状因子类似于现有的柴油机后处理系统。第一阶段的研究将利用新的制造技术来制造和展示高灵敏度的激光传感器的性能，该传感器能够经受高温、氧化、强烈振动和载满颗粒的车辆废气流的特性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a novel on-board sensor for detecting oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in diesel exhaust streams with a sensitivity and specificity unmet by existing technologies. Diesel engine manufacturers currently cannot accurately precisely control their exhaust systems due to the lack of appropriate cost-effective sensors capable of differentiating between NOx and other species in the exhaust stream. The proposed sensor can result in 10% fuel efficiency improvements. Use of this sensor at scale will lead to reduced carbon emissions and healthier air with lower amounts of NOx-induced smog, ground-level ozone, and acid rain.The intellectual merit of this project is based on a novel application of laser-absorption spectroscopy, which probes the unique spectral absorption fingerprint of NOx species to avoid cross-species interference. This sensor is projected to achieve tenfold lower detection thresholds than current widely deployed electrochemical sensors in the harsh high-temperature particulate-laden diesel exhaust environments in a form factor similar to those of existing diesel aftertreatment systems. This Phase I research will leverage novel manufacturing techniques to fabricate and demonstrate the performance of a high-sensitivity laser-based sensor capable of surviving high-temperature, oxidizing, intensely vibrating, and particulate-laden flows characteristic of vehicle exhaust gases.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.