A Fabry-Perot Refractometer for Chemical Vapor Sensing by Solid-Phase Microextraction

The contour lithography method [1] is used to improve the fabrication yield of previously demonstrated [2] microfluidic Fabry-Perot (FP) refractive index (RI) sensors. The sensors are then coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based polymers to detect vapor analytes by solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Preliminary characterization of devices coated with two different polymers and exposed to xylenes vapors yields a maximum sensitivity of 0.015 nm/ppm and a detection limit below 120 ppm.

Chemical Sensing Using a Polymer Coated Long-Period Fiber Grating Interrogated by Ring-Down Spectroscopy

An etched long-period grating was used as a refractive index sensor for vapours of four volatile organic compounds, i.e. m-xylene, cyclohexane, trichloroethylene and commercial gasoline. The sensitivity to the vapours was further increased by solid-phase microextraction into a coating made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polymethyl-octylsiloxane (PMOS) co-polymer. By further amplification of the optical loss in an optical cavity made of two identical fiber-Bragg gratings and interrogation by phase-shift cavity ring-down spectroscopy we could detect and distinguish xylene (detection limit: 134ppm) from trichloroethylene (3300ppm), cyclohexane (1850ppm) and gasoline (10,500ppm).

Detection of Lead Contamination of Water and VOC Contamination of Air Using SOI Micro-Optical Devices

Micro-photonic SOI Mach-Zehnder interferometers were coated with solid-phase micro-extraction materials derived from polydimethylsiloxane to enable sensing of volatile organic compounds of the BTEX class in air. A different coating based on functionalized mesoporous silicates is used to detect lead Pb(II) with a detection limit of <;; 100 ppb in water.