Gas sensors play a key role in applications that are involved in our daily lives. The main function of these sensors consists of monitoring the amount of gases in a particular environment. This could enable the prediction and prevention of dangerous situations, such as avoiding breathing toxic gases or particles in houses or offices. In industrial settings it is necessary to monitor the presence of combustible gases that can also lead to undesired situations. Another significant field is the diagnosis of medical conditions through the use of breath analyzers. For all these applications, the gas sensors have to be integrated into portable and wireless devices for sensing, processing, and remotely communicating data across a network.
The goal of POLARSENSE is to develop a gas sensor demonstrator that enables the miniaturization and integration of these sensors in portable devices for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In order to accomplish this goal, the gas sensor should fulfill several requirements such as being compatible with silicon technology, operating at ambient conditions with low power consumption, exhibiting a high sensitivity (low limit of detection), presenting high selectivity to gases, and demonstrating a high detection speed.
Therefore, POLARSENSE has 4 main objectives. The first one consists of determining the design of the electro-polaritonic demonstrator. This is based on the results of simulations that predict its optimum performance. The second objective is fulfilled by fabricating and characterizing the electro-polaritonic gas sensor demonstrator. The third objective involves building a broadband setup for the infrared range with a fast acquisition time and low-noise electronics. Finally, the fourth objective comprises the detection of volatile organic compounds with a high sensitivity and selectivity.
