Gas sensing properties of a clad modified fiber optic sensor with Ce, Li and Al doped nanocrystalline zinc oxides

Spectral characteristics of a clad modified fiber optic gas sensor are studied for various concentrations (0-500 ppm) of ammonia, methanol and ethanol at room temperature. Cerium, aluminum and lithium doped (6 at.%) nanocrystalline zinc oxides are replaced with a clad and used as gas sensing materials. The study shows that the spectral intensity increases linearly with concentration for ammonia whereas it decreases for methanol and ethanol. The Ce doped ZnO exhibits higher gas sensitivity compared to Al and Li doped zinc oxides. The time response of the sensor is presented for a Ce doped ZnO with ammonia gas. A model is proposed for understanding the spectral intensity variations.     

白光玕涉型EFPI光纤应变传感器理论模型的研究

从光纤的耦合和多光束歼涉的原理出发，建立了非本征型Fabry-Perot玕涉仪光纤应变传感器的模型，并对其理论模型进行了详细地推导，得到了白光光源下玕涉型EFPI光纤应变传感器的理论计算公式。建立了传感器系统，用LED作为白光光源得到反射光谱。实验结果表明与理论模型数值模拟相一致，验证了理论模型的正确性。     

A nitric oxide gas sensor based on Rayleigh surface acoustic wave resonator for room temperature operation

A Rayleigh surface acoustic wave (RSAW) resonator with polyaniline/tungsten oxide nanocomposite thin film is investigated as a gas sensor for detecting the presence of nitric oxide (NO) in air. The sensor developed in this work was sensitive to NO gas at room temperature. It is shown that the sensor had a frequency shift of 1.2 ppm when it was exposed to 138 ppb NO. The negative frequency response increased with NO concentration increasing. The response and recovery times of the NO sensor in this work were about 20-80 s. In addition, this RSAW sensor also exhibited reversibility and repeatability to the presence of NO gas. Especially, the presented sensor showed high selectivity with NO gas to separate from NO₂ and CO₂ gases.     

白光干涉型EFPI 光纤应变传感器理论模型的研究

从光纤的耦合和多光束干涉的原理出发,建立了非本征型Fabry-Perot干涉仪光纤应变传感器的模型,并对其理论模型进行了详细地推导,得到了白光光源下干涉型EFPI光纤应变传感器的理论计算公式.建立了传感器系统,用LED作为白光光源得到反射光谱.实验结果表明与理论模型数值模拟相一致,验证了理论模型的正确性.     

基于光谱吸收式光纤乙炔气体监测系统的研

选用分布反馈式半导体激光器(DFB LD)作为激发光源,带尾纤的气体吸收气室作为传感器的探测头,以及锁相放大器来提取信号,并通过谐波检测技术对所提取的微弱信号进行处理,设计了一套远距离在线测量乙炔气体的监测仪器.经过理论分析和系统实验,表明系统设计方案可行,具有较高的精度和一定的应用前景.     

一种低温光声光谱检测系统

报道了一种可工作在液氮温度下的低温光声光谱检测系统。本系统以大功率氙灯与单色仪联用作为光源,采用光纤导入技术和双腔结构,优化的光声池设计和专门设计的系统控制软件,实现了300～800nm的扫描范围,1 nm的分辨率。实验检测室温和液氮温度下碳黑的光声光谱,结果表明本系统在低温下具有较灵敏的响应特性。     

Simultaneous strain and temperature measurements in composites using extrinsic Fabry–Perot interferometric and intrinsic rare-earth doped fiber sensors

This paper reports on a novel optical fiber-based sensing system for conducting simultaneous strain and temperature measurements. The sensor design involves the use for the first time of an extrinsic Fabry–Perot interferometric (EFPI) strain sensor in conjunction with a rare-earth doped fiber fluorescence decay-time based temperature sensor. The combined sensors were embedded in a carbon fiber reinforced composite system and evaluated. The feasibility of using this type of embedded sensor configuration for simultaneous strain and temperature measurements was demonstrated.     

Miniaturization and integration of photoacoustic detection with amicrofabricated chemical reactor system

Photoacoustic spectroscopy is a useful technique for monitoring chemical composition in mesoscale analysis systems because the detection limit scales favorably with miniaturization. The key element of a photoacoustic spectrometry system is the detector. This work focuses on the miniaturization of photoacoustic detection. In particular, we are using 3.4 μm light to detect propane in a carbon dioxide background-a system that is useful for monitoring combustion reactions. Two systems have been developed. In the first, a miniature photoacoustic cell has been machined into the mounting block of a microfabricated chemical reactor, demonstrating the integration of a photoacoustic detector with a microsystem. The cell used a hearing aid microphone and an infrared diode that was modulated at the first acoustic resonance of the cell. As the gas composition of the cell changed from carbon dioxide to propane the resonance peak was observed to shift and increase, as was expected from theory. This work also presents the first demonstration of a microfabricated photoacoustic detection cell. The cell used an optical microphone and laser excitation brought into the cell via an optical fiber. The light was modulated at a frequency far below the first acoustic resonance, and a signal of 0.05 Pa was observed in the presence of propane     

Gas sensing properties at room temperature of a quartz crystal microbalance coated with ZnO nanorods

Gas sensors based on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) coated with ZnO nanorods were developed for detection of NH₃ at room temperature. Vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorods were synthesized by a novel wet chemical route at a low temperature of 90 °C, which was used to grow the ZnO nanorods directly on the QCM for the gas sensor application. The morphology of the ZnO nanorods was examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The diameter and length of the nanorods were 100 nm and 3 μm, respectively. The QCM coated with the ZnO nanorods gas sensor showed excellent performance to NH₃ gas. The frequency shift (Δf) to 50 ppm NH₃ at room temperature was about 9.1 Hz. It was found that the response and recovery times were varied with the ammonia concentration. The fabricated gas sensors showed good reproducibility and high stability. Moreover, the sensor showed a high selectivity to ammoniac gas over liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), nitrous oxide (N₂O), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and carbon dioxide (CO₂).     

球形光声腔中二氧化碳的检测

气体光声光谱技术是一种基于光声效应的微量气体检测技术,它具有高灵敏度、高选择性、大动态检测范围的优点,本文从理论上讨论了气体检测球形光声腔共振模式的声学特性,计算表明,与常用的圆柱形光声腔比较,球形光声腔不存在粘滞损耗,具有更好的检测特性;利用球形光声腔和二氧化碳激光器构成的气体光声检测系统,从实验上测量了球形光声腔的共振模式,与理论计算结果一致;实验结果表明注入浓度为300 ppm二氧化碳的球形光声腔所激发的光声信号为5.68 mV,信噪比高达45,尽可能地降低了声波在光声腔内壁附近的热损耗和粘滞损耗,提高了二氧化碳气体检测灵敏度。     

基于虚拟仪器技术的EFPI光纤微位移传感器数据处理系统

设计了一套EFPI光纤微位移传感器数据处理系统.该系统以虚拟仪器技术为设计思想,采用SICL (标准仪器控制库)函数,用面向对象软件设计技术编写系统程序,实现了对光纤传感器光谱测试和腔距实时监测.实验结果表明该系统基本达到自动化和实时化操作,为将来传感器实际应用时的数据处理提供了参考方案.     

Cross-sensitivity evaluation for ammonia sensing using absorption spectroscopy in the UV region

This paper describes an optical sensor for the monitoring of ammonia gas. An open path optical technique is used to analyze the absorption lines of ammonia within the ultra-violet region. The optical sensor shows absorption lines comparable to the theoretical ammonia spectra. Cross-sensitivity with carbon dioxide and oxygen gas has been tested and clearly shows that these two gases have no effect on ammonia measurement in the ultra-violet region, between 200 nm and 230 nm. The optical sensor is able to detect ammonia down to 9 ppm with an average error less than 2%. The optical sensor system also shows a fast response time which is less than 4 s.     

Tapered plastic multimode fiber sensor for salinity detection

A simple tapered plastic multimode (PMM) fiber optic sensor is proposed and demonstrated for continuous monitoring of salinity based on different concentration of sodium chloride (NaCl) in de-ionized water. The working mechanism of such device is based on the observed increment in the transmission of the sensor that is immersed in sodium chloride solution of higher concentration which also reflects an increase in its refractive index. The tapered PMM fiber is fabricated using heat-pulling method to achieve a waist diameter and a length of 0.187 mm and 5 mm, respectively. As the solution concentration varies from 0% to 12%, the output voltage of the sensor increases linearly from 0.109 mV to 1.142 mV with a sensitivity of 0.0024 mV/% and a linearity of more than 98%. The main advantages of this sensor are the feasibility of using PMM fiber which makes the sensor tougher, easier to fabricate and handle.     

基于石英增强光声光谱技术的开放光路气体传感系统研究

针对传统石英增强光声光谱系统存在体积大、实时性差,无法实现在狭小空间中探测等缺点,提出一种基于光纤引导方式的开放光路石英增强光声光谱传感系统。系统用光纤将激光引导至石英音叉两叉指中央,以实现对狭小空间中痕量气体的探测。搭建了实验系统,开展了对常温常压下空气中水蒸气含量的探测来验证该系统的探测灵敏度及可靠性。得到其归一化噪声系数为7.15e-7cm^(-1)?W/Hz^(1/2)。实验结果表明,该系统的探测灵敏度是传统石英增强光声光谱系统的5倍。该系统体积小、实时性强,无需样本取样,适用于开放环境中对痕量气体的检测。     

Sensoring hydrogen gas concentration using electrolyte made of proton conductive manganese dioxide

Hydrogen gas promises to be a major clean fuel in the near future. Thus, sensors that can measure the concentrations of hydrogen gas over a wide dynamic range (e.g., 1-99.9%) are in demand for the production, storage, and utilization of hydrogen gas. However, it is difficult to directly measure hydrogen gas concentrations greater than 10% using conventional sensor [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10] and [11]. We report a simple sensor using an electrolyte made of proton conductive manganese dioxide that enables in situ measurements of hydrogen gas concentration over a wide range of 0.1-99.9% at room temperature.     

Optical fiber-based evanescent ammonia sensor

An optical fiber-based evanescent gaseous ammonia sensor is designed and developed. The sensing dye, bromocresol purple (BCP), is immobilized in the substitutional cladding using sol–gel process. The sensing properties of the optical fiber sensor to gaseous ammonia at room temperature are presented. This newly developed ammonia sensor exhibits good reversibility and repeatability. The effect of different carrier gases, argon, nitrogen, and air on sensing properties of the ammonia sensor is investigated. The sensor with air as carrier gas has the best response time and sensitivity. In order to improve the response time of the optical fiber evanescent ammonia sensor, an elevated ambient temperature is applied and thoroughly investigated. A fast response time of 10 s was obtained at 55.5 °C with the carrier gas of air or argon. These experimental results have demonstrated that a fast response optical fiber evanescent gaseous ammonia sensor can be constructed by applying slightly elevated ambient temperature.     

Carbon dioxide gas sensor using a graphene sheet

In this article, we report on a high-performance graphene carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas sensor fabricated by mechanical cleavage. Unlike other solid-state gas sensors, the graphene sensor can be operated under ambient conditions and at room temperature. Changes in the device conductance are measured for various concentrations of CO₂ gas adsorbed on the surface of graphene. The conductance of the graphene gas sensor increases linearly when the concentration of CO₂ gas is increased from 10 to 100 ppm. The advantages of this sensor are high sensitivity, fast response time, short recovery time, and low power consumption.     

Investigation on packages of fiber Bragg grating for use as embeddable strain sensor in concrete structure

The paper covers detailed investigation on encapsulation and packaging of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) for strain sensing of concrete structures in embeddable form. Non-uniform strain distribution due to imperfect curing of the epoxy and its effect on the FBG spectrum has been studied experimentally and correlated with theoretical simulation. For a specific package, an optimal curing condition has been found and shown to have good repeatability. The successfully packaged sensor has been embedded in a concrete structure and the response has been found to be linear. Response of the sensor under static loading condition is compared with surface mountable electrical resistance strain gauge (ERSG) and embeddable type EFPI (extrinsic Fabry Perot interferometer) fiber optic sensor. The sensor has also been tested under dynamic loading of the structure.     

A silicon-glass-based microfabricated wide range thermal distribution gas flow meter

Recently, there has been high demand on miniaturizations of bio-instruments and wide range gas flux measurement in the field of chemistry and mechanics. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a silicon-glass-based thermal distribution gas flow meter (20 mm × 10 mm × 1.6 mm) with a wide detection range. To facilitate the fabrication and maintain the stability of the sensor, a platinum (Pt) thin film was adopted as the heater and thermometers. Both the thermal property and temperature sensitivity of Pt thin film were characterized. SiO₂ passivation layers were deposited on top of the Pt film to prevent thermal and electrical shift of sensitive elements. Three pairs of thermometers were constructed beside the heater. Sensitivity and gas flux range of the gas flow meter can be increased by alternate use of these three sensor pairs. We also introduced a specific hardware control circuit system for real-time gas flux monitoring through the connection with a computer interface. The proposed gas flow sensor device was capable of measuring gas flux within the range of 0.8-2800 ml/min, thus demonstrating the potential for a wide range of applications.     

平衡式探测器在吸收光谱导数检测中的应用

常规的光谱吸收式气体检测系统采用调制激光器驱动电流的方式来实现对发射波长的调制,再使用锁相放大器提取由此产生的被测气体吸收光谱的某一谐波分量,并对其进行回归分析以获得气体浓度值。在信号检测的过程中,由于激光器强度调制现象的作用,使目标谐波分量与其邻频谐波分量相互混叠,增大了后续的数字信号处理过程的难度。为了消除光强度调制效应的影响,将光纤延迟线和平衡放大式光电探测器配合使用,构造出气体吸收光谱的一阶导数信号,并以此取代波长调制光谱技术中的谐波信号实现对气体浓度的标定。在室温常压条件下,利用该方法测量了被氮气稀释的若干甲烷气体样本,取得的理论检测限为5.1 ppm。