Orthogonal Chip Based Electronic Sensors for Chemical Agents

Recent years have seen a shift in threats to US national security. Today increasing focus for national security is management of terrorist activities. Deliberately exposing a civilian population to chemicals and explosives to cause harm represents a looming terrorist threat. Early detection and identification is a difficult but essential element to minimizing the threat. The Seacoast Science/University of California San Diego team believes that a successful portable real time chemical detector must contain a suite of sensor technologies. Thus the ultimate goal with this program is to incorporate multiple miniature sensing technologies into a single portable unit. Individually any one technology may fall short, but used in concert many of their technical limitations are eliminated. We feel that this is the solution to the selectivity and reliability problems that plague most sensor systems. This technique will combine the strengths of the existing independent and uncorrelated detection technologies and minimize their weaknesses. The concept is simple but implementation will be very challenging and we believe this combination works well with the DOD STTR because the research to be carried out requires an interdisciplinary approach in which physicists, materials scientists, chemists and engineers collaborate, from academia and business, toward the same aim. BENEFIT: The development of an orthogonal chemical sensor based detector for chemical warfare agents and explosives would result in a system with improved selectivity, reliability and reduce the problems that plague current sensor systems, such as false alarms. This technology will be designed as dual use and would have great appeal not only with soldiers and marines, but with first responders. Future application could include industrial process control, environmental monitoring, and low cost worker personal protection.