An innovative and novel quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) sensor for highly sensitive and selective breath gas analysis is introduced. The QEPAS sensor consists of two acoustically coupled micro- resonators (mR) with an off-axis 20 kHz quartz tuning fork (QTF). The complete acoustically coupled mR system is optimized based on finite element simulations and experimentally verified. Due to the very low fabrication costs the QEPAS sensor presents a clear breakthrough in the field of photoacoustic spectroscopy by introducing novel disposable gas chambers in order to avoid cleaning after each test. The QEPAS sensor is pumped resonantly by a nanosecond pulsed single-mode mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator (MIR OPO). Spectroscopic measurements of methane and methanol in the 3.1 μm to 3.7 μm wavelength region is conducted. Demonstrating a resolution bandwidth of 1 cm-1. An Allan deviation analysis shows that the detection limit at optimum integration time for the QEPAS sensor is 32 ppbv@190s for methane and that the background noise is solely due to the thermal noise of the QTF. Spectra of both individual molecules as well as mixtures of molecules were measured and analyzed. The molecules are representative of exhaled breath gasses that are bio-markers for medical diagnostics.
A tunable MEMS sub-wavelength surface plasmonic apparatus is proposed based on localized surface-plasmon resonance effects. Optical tunneling is obtained through Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP) and Localized Surface Plasmon (LSP) by using a periodic sub-wavelength narrow-grooved metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) composite structure. Only p-polarized light can excite the SPP and LSP resonantly. The excited LSP mode with a strong field enhancement at the incident side grooves, resonantly excites the LSP mode on the other side of the thin structure. Then, with matched radiative modes, photons are radiated and tunneled. Nano/micro electromechanical actuation of small elastic deformations makes it possible to dynamically tune the localized surface plasmons via shape changes. Numerical simulations based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method are carried out on sub-wavelength structures and the results discussed. The MDM concept provides a new method to achieve real-time, dynamic tunable control and manipulation of light transmission and reflection via LSP which is different from novel tunable SPP apparatus where refractive index modulation is obtained using a voltage-controlled liquid crystal or tunable spaced air-gapped micro-prisms based on a convential SPP arrangement. This is important for the manipulation of LSP and plasmonic device design applications. Furthermore, a proposed Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensor mechanism with MDM-LSPR are demonstrated with numerical results. We believe that the MDM-LSPR is a novel principle for LSPR sensors in dielectric sensing for chemical or biologic applications which compares to current LSPR sensors with nano-particle LSPR and nanosphere lithography (NSL).
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