MICROMACHINED SENSOR SYSTEM FOR SELECTIVE DETECTION OF VOC POLLUTANTS

We propose the first phase of a two-part research and development program aimed at realizing a practical silicon-based pollutant-monitoring technology. The microfabricated sensor chips that are the heart of the technology will respond to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The chips employ ultrasonic measuring principles that have been shown in previous university research to result in extremely high sensitivity; in the work we propose, new techniques will be developed for achieving concomitant selectivity. The use of a silicon technology gives promise of a low-cost manufacture. The chips will be the basis of portable sensor systems that can be used for on-site VOC pollutant monitoring. The technology is generic in the sense that it can be applied later to the detection of other types of pollutants. In this phase we will design and build a chemical identification chip incorporating an ultrasonic flexural-plate-wave sensor and other micro-machined elements. We will design and test circuitry and algorithms to control the individual chip elements in order to make a chemical-measurement system. System performance will be measured upon exposure to two different volatile organic compounds in the presence of water vapor.