Micromachined System for Selective Measurement of VOCS

The goal of this research is to make a chemical measurement system for real-time detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using silicon micromachined components, including ultrasonic flexural-plate-wave (FPW) sensors. This system will be designed for use in personal chemical exposure monitors. It will be small, robust, battery-operated, sensitive enough to detect VOCs at a fraction of the OSHA permissible exposure level and selective enough to identify toxic chemicals in a realistic environment. In this phase, we will design and build chemical identification chips incorporating FPW sensors and on-chip preconcentrators. We will design and test control circuitry and algorithms and measure system performance upon exposure to different volatile organic compounds in the presence of water vapor.