All about Molecular Property Spectrometer sensors
NevadaNano has integrated multiple, complementary chemical sensors on a single silicon chip the MPS sensor.
The chip’s patented array of micro-cantilevers with integrated piezoelectric sensing elements provides electrical actuation and sensing of resonance frequency.
The Molecular Property Spectrometer (MPS) uses resonance to measure very small masses of a variety of chemical species. Unlike more expensive approaches, the piezoelectric sensors provides a low-cost, robust means to electrically monitor gases.
With its built-in resistive heaters, the MPS can conduct a wide range of thermal analyses and even clean each sensor after processing a sample. Using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology in a robust industrial design, the MPS does not drift, decay or poison and requires no maintenance over its lifetime.
Taking advantage of the small size of the MEMS piezoelectric sensing elements, the sensors can heat to hundreds of degrees Celsius, make a variety of high-precision thermal measurements and then cool back to room temperature within a few milliseconds. Other integrated components allow the sensor to detect picogram-scale masses and measure temperature with 0.01-degree resolution. The MPS sensor can operate in temperatures from -40°C to 75°C and under all non-condensing humidity levels. Based on this technology, products available today include:
An indoor air quality (IAQ) MPS sensor that can distinguish between toxic and non-toxic compounds is expected in the near future.
(based on an article posted on Sensor Tips)
