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A chemical and gas sensing system and method that uses fluctuation enhanced sensors to provide improved sensitivity and selectivity

The U.S. Navy seeks to commercialize U.S. Patents 7,524,460 (System and method of molecule counting using fluctuation enhanced sensors), 7,286,942 (System and method of fluctuation enhanced  gas-sensing using saw devices); and 7,680,607 (System and method for gas recognition by analysis of bi-spectrum functions).

Background

Homeland defense, including anti-terrorist efforts, requires highly selective, sensitive, and reliable detection of harmful gaseous agents. Intensive research has resulted in the use of chemical and biological sensor elements for the development of electronic noses (for gas sensing) and electronic tongues (for fluid sensing). The most sensitive and reliable method presently available for gas sensing utilizes surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. However, current applications of this technology measure
only the average resonant frequency, resulting in lack of selectivity, and are highly susceptible to inaccuracies due to changes in temperature. Therefore, there is a need for a highly selective, sensitive and reliable method of gas-sensing that is also less susceptible to inaccuracies due to changes in temperature.

The Technology

The interaction between a chemical sensor and the molecules it detects is always
a dynamic stochastic process. Fluctuations that result from this interaction carry a “stochastic fingerprint” of the chemicals with which the sensor interacts. Microscopic fluctuations around the mean value of the sensor signal contain much more information than the mean value alone. Fluctuation Enhanced Sensing (FES) uses sophisticated statistical analysis tools to incorporate this additional information. The system hardware consists of a small array of sensors, a low-noise preamplifier, a digitizer, and a computer. The FES algorithms process the time series produced by the digitizer. The software component comprises pattern generation and recognition algorithms, a small pattern database, and a graphical user interface or software interface to a communication grid and/or other modules.

Key Benefits

Development Status

For more information on technology transfer, please contact us at (619) 553–5118 or email ssc_pac_t2@navy.mil

SD 863, August 2009. SSC Pacific, San Diego, CA 92152–5001. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.