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US 2013/0092846 A1Published application
Fiber-optic sensors for real-time monitoring
AssigneeUWM Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorsPaul Henning, Peter Geissinger, Steven Kopitzke, John Frost
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are apparatuses for detecting an analyte in a liquid sample using optical time of flight spectroscopy. A handheld apparatus for remote real-time detection of Zn2+ in aqueous environments and methods for making and using the apparatus are also described herein.
Claims21
A sensor element for determining the concentration of an analyte in a liquid suspected of containing said analyte comprising:
- an optical time of flight sensor array;
- a stem;
- and
- a control interface,
- wherein the optical time of flight sensor array comprises a first waveguide comprising an excitation terminus located at a first end of the first waveguide, a second waveguide comprising a signal terminus located at a first end of the second waveguide, and at least one junction,
- wherein at least one junction is a probe junction comprising a probe polymer and a probe compound,
- wherein said probe compound is a luminescent compound that produces a first optical signal in the absence of the analyte and a second optical signal in the presence of the analyte, wherein said first optical signal and second optical signal have different peak signal intensity, different integrated signal intensity, different signal decay rate, different signal wavelength, or a combination thereof,
- wherein the stem is connected to the control interface via a control end and to the optical time of flight sensor array via an array end, and
- wherein the control interface comprises an excitation control interface and a signal control interface.
6 more elements
An apparatus for determining the concentration of an analyte in a liquid suspecting of containing the analyte comprising:
- an optical time of flight sensor array;
- a light source;
- a detector;
- and
- a signal processing device,
- wherein the optical time of flight sensor array comprises a first waveguide comprising an excitation terminus located at a first end of the first waveguide, a second waveguide comprising a signal terminus located at a first end of the second waveguide, and at least one junction,
- wherein at least one junction is a probe junction comprising a probe polymer and a probe compound,
- wherein said probe compound is a luminescent compound that produces a first optical signal in the absence of the analyte and a second optical signal in the presence of the analyte, wherein said first optical signal and second optical signal have different peak signal intensity, different integrated signal intensity, different signal decay rate, different signal wavelength, or a combination thereof,
- wherein the light source, the detector and the signal processing device are electronically coupled,
- wherein the light source and the excitation terminus are optically coupled, and
- wherein the detector and the signal terminus are optically coupled.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.