Mid-infrared waveguide sensors for volatile organic compounds
AssigneeThe Texas A&M University System
InventorPao Tai Lin
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Abstract
Chalcogenide waveguides with high width-to-height aspect ratios and a smooth exposed surfaces can serve as mid-infrared evanescent-absorption-based sensors for detecting and identifying volatile organic compounds and/or determining their concentration, optionally in real-time. The waveguide sensors may be manufactured using a modified sputtering process in which the sputtering target and waveguide substrate are titled and/or laterally offset relative to each other and the substrate is continuously rotated.
Claims20
A method for volatile organic compounds detection, the method comprising:
- measuring an attenuation of an optical mode in a chalcogenide waveguide sensor as a function of mid-infrared wavelength while the waveguide sensor is exposed to a volatile organic compound, and determining spectral attenuation information associated with the volatile organic compound;
- and
- identifying the volatile organic compound among multiple compounds based on the spectral attenuation information.
A method for volatile organic compounds detection, the method comprising:
- measuring an attenuation of an optical mode in a chalcogenide waveguide sensor at a mid-infrared wavelength corresponding to a characteristic absorption line of a volatile organic compound while the waveguide sensor is exposed to the volatile organic compound;
- and
- determining a concentration of the volatile organic compound based on the measured attenuation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.