# US 10,309,904 B2 · Retroreflector providing the functions of retroreflection and pickup of a parameter of the environment

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- Number: US 10,309,904 B2
- Document ID: US10309904B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/536,831
- Filed: 2015-12-16
- Published: 2018-01-11
- Granted: 2019-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2014-12-17
- Assignees: Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives
- Applicants: Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives
- Inventors: Pierre Marcoux; Pierre Joly; Marjorie Vrignaud; Tarek Fathallah
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10309904B2

## CPC

- G01N 21/78: producing a change of colour
- C12Q 1/6837: using probe arrays or probe chips (C12Q1/6874 takes precedence)
- G01N 21/783: {for analysing gases}
- G01N 33/54373: {involving physiochemical end-point determination, e.g. wave-guides, FETS, gratings}
- G02B 5/122: cube corner, trihedral or triple reflector type
- G02F 1/133553: {Reflecting elements (associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133605)}
- G02F 1/216: {using liquid crystals, e.g. liquid crystal Fabry-Perot filters}
- G01N 21/80: Indicating pH value
- G01N 2021/7759: {Dipstick; Test strip}
- G01N 2021/7773: {Reflection}
- G01N 2021/7783: {Transmission, loss}
- G01N 2021/7796: {Special mountings, packaging of indicators}
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- C12Q: MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS (immunoassay G01N33/53); COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS

## Abstract

The invention relates to a retroreflector able to be placed in contact with an environment, comprising, by way of constituent material, a material enabling a parameter of said environment to be picked up, said material modifying the optical transmission properties of the retroreflector when said parameter is present, said retroreflector being able to receive an incident light beam via a first face and to reemit a light beam via said first face.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A retroreflector adapted to be placed in contact with an environment, comprising, as a constitutive material, the material comprised between the faces of the retroreflector and also delimiting the latter, a porous material capturing a parameter of said environment, said parameter of said environment being a gas, said material inducing a modification of the optical transmission properties of the retroreflector in the presence of said parameter, and said retroreflector adapted to receive an incident light beam through a first face and to re-emit a light beam through said first face.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, which comprises three first faces, so called rear faces, defining a trihedron, said three faces being convergent in a point forming an apex of the trihedron, and a fourth face, a so called opposite front face to said apex of the trihedron, and containing said trihedron, said material extending between these faces.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The retroreflector according to claim 2, wherein each rear face respectively extends along a first plane, a second plane and a third plane, said planes being substantially orthogonal with each other, the light beam emerging along a direction substantially parallel to that of the incident light beam.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, which has a cube corner shape.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, wherein the porous material is a material with open porosity.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, which has a refractive index ranging from 1.2 to 2.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, which has a refractive index ranging from 1.66 to 2.7.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The retroreflector according to claim 1, wherein the constitutive material is an organic or inorganic material, comprising, inside it, one or several compounds bearing one or several groups fulfilling a function for capturing a parameter of the environment.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein the organic material is a material comprising at least one polymer.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein the inorganic material is a material of the inorganic oxide(s) type.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The retroreflector according to claim 10, wherein the material of the inorganic oxide(s) type is a material of the oxide(s) type of a metal element and/or of a metalloid element.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The retroreflector according to claim 10, wherein the material of the inorganic oxide(s) type comprises one or several oxides of an element selected from among silicon, titanium, zirconium, aluminium, vanadium, chromium, yttrium, tungsten, niobium, molybdenum.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The retroreflector according to claim 10, wherein the material of the inorganic oxide(s) type comprises silica and an oxide selected from among zirconia, titanium oxide.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The retroreflector according to claim 10, wherein the material of the inorganic oxide(s) type is a material obtained via a sol-gel method.

### Claim 15 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein the compound(s) bearing one or several groups are included in the organic or inorganic material without being covalently bound to the latter.

### Claim 16 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein the compound(s) bearing one or several groups are covalently bound to said organic or inorganic material.

### Claim 17 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein, when the parameter of the environment is a chemical compound in the form of a gas, the compound(s) bearing one or several groups fulfilling a function for capturing a parameter of the environment have one or several groups able to capture said chemical compound with chemical modification of the latter and/or able to capture said chemical compound by chemical affinity without any chemical modification of the chemical compound.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The retroreflector according to claim 17, wherein, when the parameter of the environment is a chemical compound able to chemically modify the compound(s) comprised in the material, the chemical modification results from an acid-base reaction between the chemical compound and the group(s) of the compound(s) comprised in the material.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The retroreflector according to claim 17, wherein, when the parameter of the environment is a chemical compound which has chemical affinity for the compound(s) comprised in the material, the group(s) of the compound(s) comprised in the material are hydrophobic groups, when the chemical compound comprises a hydrophobic group, such as a hydrocarbon group, or are hydrophilic groups, when the chemical compound comprises a hydrophilic group, such as an OH group.

### Claim 20 (depends on 8)

The retroreflector according to claim 8, wherein the compound(s) bearing one or several groups fulfilling a function for capturing a parameter of the environment are selected from among:
compounds belonging to the category of pH colored indicators;
compounds belonging to the category of solvatochromic probes;
organic compounds belonging to the family of aldehydes;
organic compounds belonging to the family of disulfides;
organic compounds belonging to the family of primary amines;
organic compounds belonging to the family of carboxylic acids; and
organic compounds belonging to the family of ketones.

### Claim 21 (depends on 1)

A method for detecting the presence or the absence of at least one parameter of the environment, which is a gas, comprising the following steps:
a step for putting into contact a retroreflector as defined according to claim 1, with said environment;
a step for illuminating the retroreflector with a first light beam having a first wavelength, said first wavelength corresponding to a wavelength which causes a variation in the optical transmission of the material making up the retroreflector, when the material captures the parameter of the environment;
a step for analyzing a first light beam reflected by the retroreflector, from which is inferred the presence or the absence of said parameter of the environment.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The detection method according to claim 21, further comprising the following steps:
a second step for illuminating the retroreflector with the light beam comprising a second wavelength, said second wavelength corresponding to a wavelength which causes a second variation of the optical transmission of the material making up the retroreflector when the material captures the parameter of the environment, said second variation being less than said first variation;
a step for analyzing a second light beam reflected by the retroreflector;
a step for comparing said first and second reflected beams, from which is inferred the presence or the absence of the parameter of the environment.

### Claim 23 (depends on 21)

The detection method according to claim 21, wherein:
the first light beam includes a plurality of wavelengths;
the step for analyzing the reflected beam comprises an analysis of said beam at least two wavelengths from said plurality of wavelengths.