MEMS Enhanced Laser Spectrometer for Ultra-sensitive Toxic Chemical Detection

The Joint Services is seeking a miniaturized, low cost sensor for detection and identification of CWAs and TICs. To meet this requirement Block MEMS has very successfully completed a Phase I effort to develop a widely tunable MEMS enhanced Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) spectrometer called LaserChemTM. LaserChemTM will have sensitivity in the parts per trillion, be under 1800 cm3 in size, have very low false alarms (due to its use of absorption spectroscopy in the “fingerprint” 8-12ìm spectral region and its 0.5 wave number resolution), and should cost under $3,000. In Phase I Block achieved world-record levels (>30%) of QCL tuning.. This wide tunability will necessitate the use of only 2 laser chips resulting in a very low cost sensor. The Phase II effort will focus on the development of a second QCL chip to complete coverage of the 10-12ìm region as well as the development of a MEMS constructed Fabry-Perot device to tune the QCLs. The team will develop a bench prototype ready for lab and field testing. Due to its size, cost and specificity, LaserChemTM will have broad applicability to military and commercial applications/markets, including the JCAD program, homeland security, analytical instrumentation, process monitoring, safety and medical.