Ultra-Small, Low-Cost Hazardous Gas and Particulate Matter Detector Using Novel Chip-Scale Chemical Sensor Technology

The proposed SBIR phase I project will demonstrate a ultra-small, low-power, low-cost solution for detection of toxic gases and particulate matter (PM) in air. Firefighters are exposed to various toxic gases and PM both during active knock-down and overhaul phases of fire operation. Four-gas toxic monitors, commonly used by firefighters, are ineffective due to limited information it can provide, their large footprint, high power consumption, and high operational and maintenance cost. All those detectors are built using mature sensor technologies (such as catalytic, electrochemical, and photo-ionization detectors)and have severe operational and reliability drawbacks. N5 Sensors will demonstrate a chip-scale chemical sensor architecture that is ideally suited for detection of large number of toxic gases. This will be accomplished by our patent-pending innovation in photo-enabled sensing - which combines the selective adsorption properties of multicomponent photocatalytic nanoclusters together with the sensitive transduction capability of microscale photoconductors formed using standard highly scalable microfabrication processes. This key innovation enables the sensors to operate with very little power and be completely free from cross-sensitivity to other gases. By combining our innovated sensor chips with low-cost, commercial-off-the-shell PM detector, we will demonstrate a multi-gas and PM detector that can monitor 13 gases and PM of 2.5 and 10 micrometer aerodynamic diameters, with significant reduction in SWAP (Size-Wight-And-Power) and cost.