Frequency response of multilayer pyroelectric sensors

The pyroelectric response of the multilayer system consisting of the front surroundings, the pyroelectric element, the intermediate layer, and the back surroundings is calculated. The general expression and simple relations are obtained between main geometric and thermophysical parameters of the system under consideration and characteristics of the pyroelectric response in a large variety of configurations of pyroelectric sensors, such as detectors with the pyroelectric element in a gas, detectors without air gap as well as detectors with air gap between the element and the substrate, and detectors in immersion systems, etc. In particular, it is shown that, for the detectors with air gap, the wide flat part of the frequency response appears with any properties of substrate if the double thermal resistance of the air gap exceed that of the pyroelectric element, whereas for the detectors without air gap it appears only if the substrate has relatively large complex thermal conductivity.     

Frequency-coded chemical sensors

We have developed a new method to intelligently sample analytes and introduce the analytes to sensors. The method automatically adjusts sampling duration according to the sensors' response to the analytes and converts the amplitude of the sensor output to a frequency output, giving us another opportunity to reduce noise in the signal. It also addresses some of the common sensor issues such as response time, saturation, chemical dynamic range, and sensor protection, saving precious detection time, protecting sensors, and enabling sensitive sensors built for low-concentration detection to be used for high-concentration detection as well. We have put together a system using a tuning fork chemical sensor as a sample sensor to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the new sensing technique.     

Configurable electrodes for capacitive-type sensors and chemical sensors

This paper describes a novel design for capacitive sensors or chemical sensors, which features configurable interdigitated electrodes: The electrode spacing can be varied by means of switches on the CMOS chip. This new design allows for performing two capacitive measurements with one single-sensor capacitor so that the number of sensors required to acquire a certain amount of information can be significantly reduced. The use of the same sensor and the same polymer layer for two measurements at a different electrode periodicity provides a better signal quality for the difference signal since detrimental influences, such as humidity and sensor drift, are similar for both electrode configurations and are strongly correlated. Such high signal quality is required for, e.g., the successful recognition of n-octane in the presence of tenfold larger background signals of humidity or, in general, for the determination of low analyte concentrations in humid air. The baseline drift in the concentration predictions based on the differential signal from the two electrode configurations was an order of magnitude lower than that for uncorrelated signals produced by two separate interdigitated capacitors on the same chip. Since the number of required sensors is reduced and, owing to the differential readout of two electrode configurations, reference capacitors are no longer necessary, the overall chip size and/or the number of sensor chips and, consequently, costs can be considerably reduced.     

Langmuir-Blodgett films as chemical sensors

This review covers the fundamental scheme of chemical sensors, fields of major interest in chemical sensors with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, and new and future trends in LB sensor studies. The topics discussed are the relation between sensor characteristics and LB film structure, the biomimetic approach to sensor developments, proposals for transducer improvements, and the possibility of fabricating molecular filters by LB techniques.     

Signal amplification in a gyro-backward-wave tube

The process of signal amplification in an active medium of the helical electron beam-backward electromagnetic wave type (gyro-backward-wave tube) has been theoretically analyzed. The same process has been studied in a gyro-backward-wave tube with an electrodynamic structure representing coupled waveguide systems.     

Signal processing techniques for CCD image sensors

Charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors are currently used in many image processing applications such as facsimile and bar code reading. Because the photodetectors in the device have finite areas, the output signal from the CCD image sensor is only an approximation to the sampled value of the image. In this paper we discuss the reconstruction of bar codes from the imperfect CCD signal by digital signal processing techniques. Schemes for encoding digital data in the form of bar codes are also discussed.     

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy for chemical sensors

A family of sensors is presented with fluorescence decay-time measurements used as the sensing technique. The concept is to take a single fluorophore with a suitably long fluorescence decay time as the basic building block for numerous different sensors. Analyte recognition can be performed by different functional groups that are necessary for selective interaction with the analyte. To achieve this, the principle of excited-state electron transfer is applied with pyrene as the fluorophore. Therefore the same instrumentation based on a small, ambient air-nitrogen laser and solid-state electronics can be used to measure different analytes, for example, oxygen, pH, carbon dioxide, potassium, ammonium, lead, cadmium, zinc, and phosphate.     

Conducting polymers in electronic chemical sensors

Conducting organic polymers have found two main kinds of application in electronics so far: as materials for construction of various devices and as selective layers in chemical sensors. In either case, interaction with ambient gases is critical. It may compromise the performance of a device based on conducting polymers, whereas it is beneficial in a sensor. Conductivity has been the primary property of interest. Work function--related to conductivity, but in principle a different property--has received only scant attention. Our aim here is to discuss the usability of conducting polymers in both types of electronic applications in light of these two parameters.     

The preparation of amperometric xanthine sensors based on multilayer thin films containing xanthine oxidase

An amperometric xanthine biosensor was prepared by immobilizing xanthine oxidase (XOx) on the surface of a platinum (Pt) disk electrode. The Pt electrode was first covered with a polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film composed of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(vinyl sulfate) (PVS) to block the Pt surface from the access of uric acid, a reaction product of the XOx-catalyzed oxidation reaction of xanthine, because uric acid can be electrochemically oxidized on the Pt electrode to induce interference. The PEM film-covered Pt electrode was further modified with a XOx-containing multilayer film composed of XOx and poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) (PDDA). The xanthine biosensors thus prepared can be used successfully for detecting xanthine in the concentration range of 3–300 μM. The output current of the sensors depended on the number of the XOx/PDDA layers in the film. The PAH/PVS layer was effective to eliminate the uric acid interference.     

Improved simple linear profiling method with application to chemical gas sensors

In industrial applications, a functional relationship between the quality characteristics of interest is well represented by profile functions. These are often characterized by linear or nonlinear relationships that depend on the nature of the experimental study. A monitoring method based on linear profiles is known as linear profiling, which is commonly used because of its simplicity. In this article, we propose a new linear profiling method based on a homogenously weighted moving average (HWMA) chart to monitor the linear profile parameters. The HWMA chart is based on the idea of allocating a specific weight to the current estimate of the profiling parameter, and the remaining weight is circulated equally among the prior estimates. The performance of the proposed control chart was evaluated using the average run length criterion and further compared with existing charts for the monitoring of the linear profile parameter. Our simulation results revealed the superiority of the newly proposed chart in terms of its quick detection ability. An example concerning gas sensors from the chemical industry is also presented to illustrate the application of the proposed chart.