Gas sensor devices

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of sensors, and in particular to a gas sensor device. The gas sensor device includes: a photonic crystal, including a light incident port, a first light and a second light exit port, and a beam splitter unit and a circulator unit composed of an arrangement of dielectric columns; a micro-nano reflector, including a reflective layer sensitive to target gas parameters, and the reflective layer is located between the incident port and the exit port of the circulator unit; a gas parameter calculation module, used to calculate the target gas parameter according to the optical path difference of the light signal emitted from the first and second light exit ports; wherein the beam splitter unit is used to split the light signal received at the light incident port into a first modal light signal and a second modal light signal; the first modal light signal is emitted from the first light exit port, and the second modal light signal is emitted from the second light exit port after passing through the incident port of the circulator unit, the reflective layer, and the exit port of the circulator unit in sequence. The present disclosure can reduce the volume of optical gas sensor devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of sensor technology, and in particular to a gas sensor device. Background Art

[0002] In many scenarios, it is necessary to obtain information such as the composition or concentration of the gas. Take hydrogen as an example. As an important chemical raw material and clean energy, hydrogen is widely used. However, hydrogen is flammable and explosive, and is colorless and odorless. If a leak occurs during production, transportation, storage, and use, it will be difficult to detect. When the volume fraction of hydrogen in the air is in the range of 4.0%-74.42%, an explosion may occur, causing a serious accident. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the hydrogen content in the environment. At the same time, in situations where hydrogen is used, humidity also has an important impact on the use and maintenance of equipment in the venue, so it is necessary to monitor the ambient air humidity at the same time.

[0003] In the prior art, gas sensors are often used to convert information such as gas composition or concentration into information that can be used by personnel, instruments, computers, etc. For example, the concentration of hydrogen in the air can be obtained through a hydrogen sensor, and the humidity of the air can be obtained through a humidity sensor.

[0004] Taking hydrogen sensors as an example, the widely used hydrogen sensors are mainly catalytic combustion type, thermal conductivity type, electrochemical type, semiconductor type, etc. These sensors are all electrical sensors. In comparison, optical hydrogen sensors have the characteristics of intrinsic safety, good stability, small size, light weight and easy networking, and have important application value.

[0005] However, in the prior art, there is still room for improvement in the structure and volume of gas sensor devices such as optical hydrogen sensors.

[0006] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present disclosure provides a gas sensor device, thereby optimizing the structure of the optical gas sensor device at least to a certain extent and reducing the volume of the optical gas sensor device.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a gas sensor device, comprising:

[0009] A photonic crystal, comprising a light incident port, a first light exit port, a second light exit port, and a beam splitter unit and a circulator unit formed by arranging dielectric columns;

[0010] A micro-nano reflector, comprising a reflective layer that is sensitive to target gas parameters, and the reflective layer is located between an incident port and an exit port of the circulator unit;

[0011] a gas parameter calculation module, configured to calculate a target gas parameter according to an optical path difference between an optical signal emitted from the first optical output port and an optical signal emitted from the second optical output port;

[0012] The beam splitter unit is used to split the optical signal received at the optical input port into a first modal optical signal and a second modal optical signal; the first modal optical signal is emitted from the first optical output port, and the second modal optical signal is emitted from the second optical output port after passing through the input port of the circulator unit, the reflective layer, and the output port of the circulator unit in sequence.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the beam splitter unit comprises:

[0014] a first optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the light incident port;

[0015] a second optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the second end of the first optical waveguide, and a second end of which is in communication with the first light exit port;

[0016] A first dielectric column arrangement structure is located in the second optical waveguide; the first dielectric column arrangement structure is a passband for the first modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the second modal optical signal;

[0017] a third optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the second end of the first optical waveguide, and a second end of which is in communication with the incident port of the circulator unit;

[0018] The second dielectric column arrangement structure is located in the third optical waveguide; the second dielectric column arrangement structure is a passband for the second modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the first modal optical signal.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the circulator unit comprises:

[0020] a fourth optical waveguide, a first end of which is an incident port of the circulator unit and a second end of which is an exit port of the circulator unit;

[0021] a fifth optical waveguide, a first end of which is connected to the fourth optical waveguide and the connection point is located between the incident port and the output port of the circulator unit, and a second end of which is connected to the reflective layer;

[0022] The third dielectric column structure is located at the connection point between the fourth optical waveguide and the fifth optical waveguide, and is used to control the optical signal to irreversibly pass through the incident port of the circulator unit, the second end of the fifth optical waveguide, and the output port of the circulator unit in sequence.

[0023] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure:

[0024] The first modal optical signal is in TM polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal is in TE polarization mode; or,

[0025] The first modal optical signal is in a TE polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal is in a TM polarization mode.

[0026] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the reflective layer includes:

[0027] substrate;

[0028] A mirror layer, attached to a side of the substrate facing the circulator unit;

[0029] The micro-nano structure film layer is attached to the mirror layer; the refractive index of the micro-nano structure film layer can change accordingly with the different parameters of the target gas.

[0030] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the micro-nano reflector comprises:

[0031] a first reflective layer, wherein the first reflective layer is sensitive to a first target gas parameter;

[0032] a second reflective layer, wherein the second reflective layer is sensitive to a second target gas parameter;

[0033] Wherein, the first target gas parameter is different from the second target gas parameter.

[0034] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the micro-nano reflector comprises:

[0035] The switching control mechanism is connected to the first reflecting layer and the second reflecting layer; and is used to move the first reflecting layer to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal optical signal according to a first switching operation; and to move the second reflecting layer to the preset position according to a second switching operation.

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas parameter calculation module includes:

[0037] an optical path difference detection unit, used to detect an optical path difference between an optical signal emitted from the first optical output port and an optical signal emitted from the second optical output port;

[0038] A storage unit, used to store a mapping relationship between an optical path difference value and a target gas parameter value;

[0039] The gas parameter determination unit is used to determine the target gas parameter value corresponding to the detected optical path difference according to the detected optical path difference and the mapping relationship.

[0040] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas sensor device further includes:

[0041] The airflow channel comprises a gas inlet to be measured and a gas outlet to be measured, and the micro-nano reflector is located between the gas inlet to be measured and the gas outlet to be measured of the airflow channel.

[0042] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first target gas parameter is the hydrogen concentration of the gas to be measured, and the second target gas parameter is the humidity of the gas to be measured.

[0043] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may have some or all of the following beneficial effects:

[0044] In the gas sensor device provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, firstly, a beam splitter unit and a circulator unit and related optical paths are formed by arranging dielectric columns in a photonic crystal, and secondly, a reflective layer sensitive to the target gas parameter is set, so that the incident light can be split into a first modal light signal and a second modal light signal by the beam splitter unit; the first modal light signal is normally emitted from the first light output port, and the second modal light signal is emitted from the second light output port after passing through the incident port of the circulator unit, the above-mentioned reflective layer, and the output port of the circulator unit in sequence. When the gas to be measured contacts the reflective layer of the micro-nano reflector, the micro-nano reflector will cause a change and change the optical path of the second modal light signal, that is, change the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal. Furthermore, the gas parameter calculation module can determine the target gas parameter value based on the detected optical path difference. On the one hand, compared to the prior art, which mostly uses optical gas sensor devices formed by a combination of optical fibers, lenses and other optical elements, the gas sensor device provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure does not require larger devices such as lenses and optical fibers, so the overall structure has been greatly optimized and simplified, and the volume of the optical gas sensor device can be significantly reduced. On the other hand, compared to the optical gas sensor device formed by a combination of multiple components in the prior art, the positions of the various structures in the gas sensor device provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure are relatively fixed, and the optical path will not change significantly, so the stability is better, thereby reducing the error fluctuation of the target gas parameter measurement value.

[0045] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0047] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a gas sensor device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a photonic crystal structure in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0049] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a micro-nano reflector in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0050] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a gas sensor device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0051] Figure 5 A module schematic diagram of a gas parameter calculation module in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0052] The following are the descriptions of the reference numerals:

[0053] 1000, photonic crystal; 1100, light incident port; 1200, first light exit port; 1300, second light exit port; 1400, beam splitter unit; 1410, first optical waveguide; 1420, second optical waveguide; 1430, third optical waveguide; 1440, first dielectric column arrangement structure; 1450, second dielectric column arrangement structure; 1500, circulator unit; 1510, incident end of circulator unit; 1520, exit end of circulator unit; 1530, fourth optical waveguide; 1540, fifth optical waveguide; 1550, third dielectric column arrangement structure; The material column structure; 1551, the third dielectric column; 1552, the ferrite magneto-optical column; 1553, the reflection cavity; 2000, the micro-nano reflector; 2100, the reflection layer; 2110, the substrate; 2120, the mirror layer; 2130, the micro-nano structure film layer; 2200, the first reflection layer; 2300, the second reflection layer; 3000, the air flow channel; 3100, the inlet of the gas to be measured; 3200, the outlet of the gas to be measured; 4000, the gas parameter calculation module; 4100, the optical path difference detection unit; 4200, the storage unit; 4300, the gas parameter determination unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0055] In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0056] It should be noted that, in the present disclosure, the terms "including", "configured with", and "set to" are used to express an open-ended meaning of inclusion, and mean that in addition to the listed elements / components / etc., there may be additional elements / components / etc.; the terms "one", "an", "the", "said" and "at least one" are used to indicate the presence of one or more elements / components / etc.; the terms "first", "second" and "third" etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to limit the quantity of their objects.

[0057] Figure 1A gas sensor device in this exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. The gas sensor device may include a photonic crystal 1000, a micro-nano reflector 2000, and a gas parameter calculation module (not shown). The photonic crystal 1000 includes a light incident port 1100, a first light exit port 1200, a second light exit port 1300, and a beam splitter unit 1400 and a circulator unit 1500 composed of an arrangement of dielectric columns; the micro-nano reflector 2000 includes a reflective layer 2100 that is sensitive to target gas parameters, and the reflective layer 2100 is located between the incident port 1510 and the exit port 1520 of the circulator unit; the gas parameter calculation module is used to calculate the gas parameter based on the optical signal emitted from the first light exit port 1200 and the optical signal emitted from the second light exit port 1300. The target gas parameters are calculated based on the optical path difference of the optical signal emitted from the second optical output port 1300; wherein the beam splitter unit 1400 is used to split the optical signal received at the optical input port 1100 into a first modal optical signal and a second modal optical signal; the first modal optical signal is emitted from the first optical output port 1200, and the second modal optical signal is emitted from the second optical output port 1300 after passing through the input port 1510 of the circulator unit, the reflective layer 2100, and the output port 1520 of the circulator unit in sequence.

[0058] Based on the gas sensor device provided in this exemplary embodiment, when the gas to be measured contacts the reflective layer 2100 of the micro-nano reflector 2000, the micro-nano reflector 2000 will cause a change and change the optical path of the second modal light signal, that is, change the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal. Then, the gas parameter calculation module can determine the target gas parameter value according to the detected optical path difference. On the one hand, compared with the prior art, most of the optical gas sensor devices formed by the combination of optical fiber, lens and other optical elements are used. The gas sensor device provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure does not require larger devices such as lenses and optical fibers, so the overall structure has been greatly optimized and simplified, and the volume of the optical gas sensor device can be significantly reduced. On the other hand, compared with the optical gas sensor device formed by the combination of multiple components in the prior art, the positions of the various structures in the gas sensor device provided in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure are relatively fixed, and the optical path will not change significantly, so the stability is better, thereby reducing the error fluctuation of the target gas parameter measurement value.

[0059] Next, we will combine Figure 1 The various steps of the gas sensor device in this exemplary embodiment are described in more detail in other drawings and embodiments.

[0060] The photonic crystal 1000 in this exemplary embodiment may be a two-dimensional photonic crystal. The two-dimensional photonic crystal mainly includes a background material and dielectric columns arranged in an array in the background material, and the dielectric constants of the background material and the dielectric columns are different. For example, the background material may be air, and the dielectric columns are formed of a specific material such as silicon dioxide; for another example, the background material may be germanium, and the dielectric columns are formed of air holes, etc. The array arrangement of the dielectric columns may be a triangular lattice or a square lattice, etc.; Figure 1 The square lattice shown in is a square lattice; the triangular lattice can be Figure 2 The cross section of the dielectric column is generally a perfect circle, but other symmetrical shapes may also be used. These are not particularly limited in this exemplary embodiment.

[0061] The most basic characteristic of the photonic crystal 1000 is that it has a photon bandgap, which is a special area formed by Bragg scattering. Due to the discontinuous jump of photon energy at the boundary of the Brillouin zone, electromagnetic waves with frequencies falling within the bandgap are prohibited from propagating. The width of the photon bandgap depends on the geometry, characteristic size, spacing and properties of the crystal material; the area outside the photon bandgap is called the photon passband, which allows photons to pass through. Since the position and frequency range of the photon bandgap can be determined by artificially designed photonic crystals; therefore, the photon bandgap and photon passband of the photonic crystal can be used to achieve control of electromagnetic waves. For example, in this exemplary embodiment, the beam splitter unit 1400 and the circulator unit 1500 are formed by adjusting the structure of the photonic crystal 1000.

[0062] refer to Figure 1 As shown, the beam splitter unit 1400 may include a first optical waveguide 1410, a second optical waveguide 1420, a third optical waveguide 1430, a first dielectric column arrangement structure 1440, and a second dielectric column arrangement structure 1450. Wherein:

[0063] The first end of the first optical waveguide 1410 is connected to the light incident port 1100, and can receive an optical signal incident from the light incident port 1100. In this exemplary embodiment, the optical signal incident from the light incident port 1100 may be a laser signal, such as an optical signal generated by an ASE (Amplified Spontaneous Emission) wide-spectrum laser light source.

[0064] The first end of the second optical waveguide 1420 is connected to the second end of the first optical waveguide 1410, and the second end of the second optical waveguide 1420 is connected to the first light exit port 1200. A first dielectric column arrangement structure 1440 is provided in the second optical waveguide 1420. The first dielectric column arrangement structure 1440 is a passband for the first modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the second modal optical signal.

[0065] In this exemplary embodiment, the first modal optical signal may be a TM polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal may be a TE polarization mode. Furthermore, a first dielectric column arrangement structure 1440 may be formed that is a passband for TM polarization modal optical signals and a forbidden band for TE polarization modal optical signals by adopting one or more of the following methods: for example, the arrangement form of the first dielectric column may be adjusted, such as adjusting to a square lattice or a triangular lattice, etc.; the material of the first dielectric column may also be adjusted so that the dielectric constants of the first dielectric column and the main dielectric column of the photonic crystal 1000 are in a preset relationship; the radius ratio relationship between the first dielectric column and the main dielectric column of the photonic crystal 1000 may also be adjusted.

[0066] The first end of the third optical waveguide 1430 is connected to the second end of the first optical waveguide 1410, and the second end of the third optical waveguide 1430 is connected to the incident port 1510 of the circulator unit. A second dielectric column arrangement structure 1450 is provided in the third optical waveguide 1430. The second dielectric column arrangement structure 1450 is a passband for the second modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the first modal optical signal.

[0067] Similar to the above-mentioned first dielectric column arrangement structure 1440, this exemplary embodiment can form a second dielectric column arrangement structure 1450 that is a passband for TE polarization mode optical signals and a forbidden band for TM polarization mode optical signals by adopting one or more of the following methods: for example, the arrangement form of the second dielectric column can be adjusted, such as adjusting to a square lattice or a triangular lattice, etc.; the material of the second dielectric column can also be adjusted so that the dielectric constants of the second dielectric column and the main dielectric column of the photonic crystal 1000 are in a preset relationship; the radius ratio relationship between the second dielectric column and the main dielectric column of the photonic crystal 1000 can also be adjusted.

[0068] In this way, the laser signal incident from the light incident port 1100 can be split into an upstream TM polarization mode optical signal and a downstream TE polarization mode optical signal by the beam splitter unit 1400 in this exemplary embodiment.

[0069] It should be noted that in other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the first modal optical signal may be a TE polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal may be a TM polarization mode. In this exemplary embodiment, the beam splitter unit 1400 is a Y-type structure; however, in other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the beam splitter unit 1400 may also be a T-type structure or other structures. All of these belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0070] Continue to refer Figure 1 As shown, the circulator unit 1500 may include a fourth optical waveguide 1530, a fifth optical waveguide 1540 and a third dielectric column structure 1550. Wherein:

[0071] The first end of the fourth optical waveguide 1530 is the incident port 1510 of the circulator unit, and the second end of the fourth optical waveguide 1530 is the exit port 1520 of the circulator unit. The first end of the fifth optical waveguide 1540 is connected to the fourth optical waveguide 1530 and the connection point is located between the incident port 1510 and the exit port 1520 of the circulator unit, and the second end of the fifth optical waveguide 1540 is connected to the reflective layer 2100. A third dielectric column structure 1550 is provided at the connection point between the fourth optical waveguide 1530 and the fifth optical waveguide 1540. The third dielectric column structure 1550 is used to control the optical signal to irreversibly pass through the incident port 1510 of the circulator unit, the second end of the fifth optical waveguide 1540, and the exit port 1520 of the circulator unit in sequence.

[0072] In this exemplary embodiment, the third dielectric column structure 1550 may include a third dielectric column 1551 with a larger radius at the center and four ferrite magneto-optical columns 1552 surrounding the third dielectric column 1551 to form a two-dimensional magnetic photonic crystal; in addition, it also includes a reflection cavity 1553 formed by several fourth dielectric columns with different radii to reflect the incident optical signal back along the original path. Furthermore, unconstrained optical transmission or 90° bending of a one-way optical path in the fourth optical waveguide 1530 and the fifth optical waveguide 1540 can be achieved, and the two paths of the one-way 90° optical bend can be effectively cascaded by using the reflection cavity 1553, realizing the irreversible transmission of two waveguides arranged and connected in a straight line.

[0073] It should be noted that in the above exemplary embodiments, the coupling structural characteristics of the magneto-optical material column are utilized to realize a T-shaped circulator unit 1500 with a simple shape and compact structure. However, in other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the circulator unit 1500 may also be a Y-shaped structure, a cross-shaped structure, a W-shaped structure, a windmill-shaped structure, or other structures. All of these belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0074] refer to Figure 3 As shown, the reflective layer 2100 of this exemplary embodiment may include a substrate 2110, a mirror layer 2120, and a micro-nanostructure film layer 2130. Among them:

[0075] In this exemplary embodiment, the substrate 2110 may be a substrate made of silicon material, such as a silicon dioxide substrate; however, a quartz substrate or a flexible substrate may also be used. The mirror layer 2120 is attached to the side of the substrate 2110 facing the circulator unit 1500; the mirror layer 2120 may be formed on the substrate 2110 by magnetron sputtering, coating, or spin coating, depending on the material. In some exemplary embodiments, the substrate 2110 and the mirror layer 2120 may also be an integrated structure, that is, the mirror layer 2120 is obtained by performing a surface smoothing treatment on the substrate 2110. This is not particularly limited in this exemplary embodiment.

[0076] The micro-nano structure film layer 2130 is attached to the mirror layer 2120; the refractive index of the micro-nano structure film layer 2130 can change accordingly with the different target gas parameters. According to the different target gas parameters, the micro-nano structure film layer 2130 can be made of different materials and / or have different structures.

[0077] Taking the target gas parameter as hydrogen concentration as an example, the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 can be a metal palladium film, and the palladium particles in the metal palladium film are in the order of angstroms; when the hydrogen molecules in the gas come into contact with the metal palladium film, the hydrogen molecules dissociate and adsorb on the surface of the metal palladium film into hydrogen atoms and diffuse into the palladium lattice to generate palladium hydride; this change will bring about a change in the refractive index of the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130. Under different hydrogen concentrations, the refractive index change of the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 will also be different; therefore, the optical path difference between the first modal light signal emitted from the first light output port 1200 and the second modal light signal emitted from the second light output port 1300 will be different, and then, the corresponding hydrogen concentration can be calculated according to the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal.

[0078] Taking the target gas parameter as air humidity as an example, the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 may include a graphene oxide layer. The graphene oxide layer is a two-dimensional material with a large surface area and a more prominent hydrophilicity, and the refractive index of the graphene oxide layer changes significantly with the change of humidity. Therefore, when the air humidity near the graphene oxide layer changes, the refractive index of the graphene oxide layer also changes. Under different air humidities, the refractive index change of the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 will also be different; therefore, the optical path difference between the first modal light signal emitted from the first light exit port 1200 and the second modal light signal emitted from the second light exit port 1300 will be different, and then, the corresponding air humidity can be calculated based on the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal.

[0079] In some exemplary embodiments, the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 can also be sensitive to target gas parameter stress, that is, it can generate corresponding stress as the target gas parameters change, causing the surface morphology of the reflective layer 2100 to change, thereby making the optical path difference between the first modal light signal emitted from the first light output port 1200 and the second modal light signal emitted from the second light output port 1300 different; and this is not limited to the present exemplary embodiment.

[0080] It should be noted that in the above exemplary embodiments, the target gas parameters are hydrogen concentration and air humidity as examples, but in other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the target gas parameters may also be other parameters such as oxygen concentration. The structure of the micro-nanostructure film layer 2130 may be a one-dimensional to three-dimensional structure such as a powder, a film, a granular, a nanowire structure, etc. All of these belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0081] In addition, in many scenarios, it is necessary to monitor multiple gas parameters simultaneously. For example, in situations where hydrogen is used, humidity also has an important impact on the use and maintenance of equipment at the site, so it is necessary to monitor the hydrogen concentration and the ambient air humidity simultaneously. In order to solve similar problems, in this exemplary embodiment, the micro-nano reflector 2000 can include multiple types of reflective layers 2100, so as to detect different gas parameters accordingly.

[0082] For example, refer to Figure 4 As shown, the micro-nano reflector 2000 may include a first reflective layer 2200 and a second reflective layer 2300. The first reflective layer 2200 is sensitive to a first target gas parameter; the second reflective layer 2300 is sensitive to a second target gas parameter; and the first target gas parameter is different from the second target gas parameter, for example, the first target gas parameter is hydrogen concentration, and the second target gas parameter is air humidity; the specific structures of the first reflective layer 2200 and the second reflective layer 2300 may be as described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0083] In order to facilitate the switching of the first reflective layer 2200 and the second reflective layer 2300, in this exemplary embodiment, the micro-nano reflector 2000 may further include a switching control mechanism. The switching control mechanism is connected to the first reflective layer 2200 and the second reflective layer 2300; and is used to move the first reflective layer 2200 to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal optical signal according to a first switching operation; and to move the second reflective layer 2300 to the preset position according to a second switching operation.

[0084] For example, the switching control mechanism may include a slide rail and a driver; wherein the driver may receive a control signal generated by the switching operation, and drive the first reflective layer 2200 or the second reflective layer 2300 to translate along the slide rail to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal light signal. In this exemplary embodiment, by providing a plurality of reflective layers 2100 and a switching control mechanism, a plurality of target gas parameter measurement functions may be integrated together, thereby further reducing the space occupied by the optical gas sensor device, reducing the related operations of the detection personnel, and reducing the detection cost. In addition, in other exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the switching control mechanism may also be other structures, and this exemplary embodiment does not impose any special restrictions on this.

[0085] Continue to refer Figure 1 as well as Figure 4 As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, the gas sensor device may further include an airflow channel 3000. The airflow channel 3000 includes a gas inlet 3100 to be measured and a gas outlet 3200 to be measured, and the micro-nano reflector 2000 is located between the gas inlet 3100 to be measured and the gas outlet of the airflow channel 3000. By setting the airflow channel 3000, it is possible to ensure that the gas to be measured flows through the micro-nano reflector 2000, and to a certain extent, it plays a role in protecting the micro-nano reflector 2000.

[0086] refer to Figure 5 As shown, in this exemplary embodiment, the gas parameter calculation module 4000 may include an optical path difference detection unit 4100 , a storage unit 4200 , and a gas parameter determination unit 4300 .

[0087] in:

[0088] The optical path difference detection unit 4100 is used to determine the optical path difference between the first modal light signal emitted from the first light output port 1200 and the second modal light signal emitted from the second light output port 1300. For example, the optical path difference detection unit 4100 can obtain the interference pattern generated by the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal through a device such as an interferometer, and then determine the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal according to the interference pattern. The interferometer can be, for example, a Michelson interferometer.

[0089] The storage unit 4200 is used to store the mapping relationship between the optical path difference value and the target gas parameter value. In this exemplary embodiment, the mapping relationship between the optical path difference value and the target gas parameter value can be calibrated in advance through experiments and written into the storage unit 4200. The mapping relationship can be a mapping table, or other forms such as a mapping function. In this exemplary embodiment, the storage unit 4200 can be a non-volatile readable storage medium. For example, it can be - but not limited to - an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory, a read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0090] The gas parameter determination unit 4300 is used to determine the target gas parameter value corresponding to the detected optical path difference according to the detected optical path difference and the mapping relationship. In this exemplary embodiment, the gas parameter determination unit 4300 can obtain different mapping relationship tables from the storage unit 4200 according to different target gas parameters; further, after receiving the optical path difference sent by the optical path difference detection unit 4100, the corresponding target gas parameter value can be obtained by table lookup; or, after obtaining the mapping function, the corresponding target gas parameter value can be obtained by function substitution. The gas parameter determination unit 4300 can be, for example, a unit with arithmetic processing functions such as a CPU, a SoC (System on Chip) or an MCU (Microcontroller Unit).

[0091] Combine the following Figure 4 A complete target gas parameter detection process of the gas sensor device of this exemplary embodiment is described as follows:

[0092] Based on the gas sensor device provided by the above exemplary embodiment, when the laser enters the photonic crystal 1000 from the light incident port 1100, it will be divided into a first modal light signal and a second modal light signal by the beam splitter unit 1400. Among them, the first modal light signal is normally transmitted to the first light output port 1200 (the optical path above). The second modal light signal first enters the incident port 1510 of the circulator unit, then exits from the middle port of the circulator unit 1500, re-enters the middle port of the circulator unit 1500 after being reflected by the micro-nano reflector 2000, and exits from the output port 1520 of the circulator unit, and finally is transmitted to the second light output port 1300 (the optical path below).

[0093] The micro-nano reflector 2000 is disposed in the air flow channel 3000, and the micro-nano reflector 2000 includes a first reflective layer 2200 that is sensitive to hydrogen and a second reflective layer 2300 that is sensitive to humidity. If it is necessary to measure the concentration of hydrogen, the micro-nano reflector 2000 can be moved to the left, and the first reflective layer 2200 can be controlled to move to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal light signal. If it is necessary to measure the air humidity, the micro-nano reflector 2000 can be moved to the right, and the second reflective layer 2300 can be controlled to move to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal light signal.

[0094] When the gas to be measured flows from the gas inlet 3100 to the gas outlet 3200 of the gas flow channel 3000, it will contact the reflective layer 2100 of the micro-nano reflector 2000 in the gas flow channel 3000 and undergo a physical and chemical reaction, causing the refractive index or surface morphology of the micro-nano reflector 2000 to change, thereby changing the optical path of the second modal light signal, that is, changing the optical path difference between the first modal light signal and the second modal light signal. Furthermore, the gas parameter calculation module 4000 can determine the target gas parameter value based on the detected optical path difference.

[0095] It should be noted that, although several modules or components of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or components described above can be embodied in one module or unit. On the contrary, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

[0096] The various component embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, or in a software module running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof.

[0097] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be considered as exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A gas sensor device, characterized in that: include: A photonic crystal, comprising a light incident port, a first light exit port, a second light exit port, and a beam splitter unit and a circulator unit formed by arranging dielectric columns; A micro-nano reflector, comprising a reflective layer that is sensitive to target gas parameters, and the reflective layer is located between an incident port and an exit port of the circulator unit; a gas parameter calculation module, configured to calculate a target gas parameter according to an optical path difference between an optical signal emitted from the first optical output port and an optical signal emitted from the second optical output port; The beam splitter unit is used to split the optical signal received at the optical incident port into a first modal optical signal and a second modal optical signal; the first modal optical signal is emitted from the first optical output port, and the second modal optical signal is emitted from the second optical output port after passing through the incident port of the circulator unit, the reflective layer, and the output port of the circulator unit in sequence; The circulator unit includes a third dielectric column structure, which includes a third dielectric column located at the center and four ferrite magneto-optical columns surrounding the third dielectric column to form a two-dimensional magnetic photonic crystal, and the radius of the third dielectric column is greater than the radius of the ferrite magneto-optical column; the third dielectric column structure also includes a reflection cavity surrounded by several fourth dielectric columns with different radii.

2. The gas sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The beam splitter unit comprises: a first optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the light incident port; a second optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the second end of the first optical waveguide, and a second end of which is in communication with the first light exit port; A first dielectric column arrangement structure is located in the second optical waveguide; the first dielectric column arrangement structure is a passband for the first modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the second modal optical signal; a third optical waveguide, a first end of which is in communication with the second end of the first optical waveguide, and a second end of which is in communication with the incident port of the circulator unit; The second dielectric column arrangement structure is located in the third optical waveguide; the second dielectric column arrangement structure is a passband for the second modal optical signal and a forbidden band for the first modal optical signal.

3. The gas sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circulator unit comprises: a fourth optical waveguide, a first end of which is an incident port of the circulator unit and a second end of which is an exit port of the circulator unit; a fifth optical waveguide, a first end of which is connected to the fourth optical waveguide and the connection point is located between the incident port and the output port of the circulator unit, and a second end of which is connected to the reflective layer; The third dielectric column structure is located at the connection point between the fourth optical waveguide and the fifth optical waveguide, and is used to control the optical signal to irreversibly pass through the incident port of the circulator unit, the second end of the fifth optical waveguide, and the output port of the circulator unit in sequence.

4. The gas sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first modal optical signal is in TM polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal is in TE polarization mode; or, The first modal optical signal is in a TE polarization mode, and the second modal optical signal is in a TM polarization mode.

5. The gas sensor device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The reflective layer comprises: substrate; A mirror layer, attached to a side of the substrate facing the circulator unit; The micro-nano structure film layer is attached to the mirror layer; the refractive index of the micro-nano structure film layer can change accordingly with the different parameters of the target gas.

6. The gas sensor device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The micro-nano reflector comprises: a first reflective layer, wherein the first reflective layer is sensitive to a first target gas parameter; a second reflective layer, wherein the second reflective layer is sensitive to a second target gas parameter; Wherein, the first target gas parameter is different from the second target gas parameter.

7. The gas sensor device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The micro-nano reflector comprises: The switching control mechanism is connected to the first reflecting layer and the second reflecting layer; and is used to move the first reflecting layer to a preset position capable of reflecting the second modal optical signal according to a first switching operation; and to move the second reflecting layer to the preset position according to a second switching operation.

8. The gas sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gas parameter calculation module includes: an optical path difference detection unit, used to detect an optical path difference between an optical signal emitted from the first optical output port and an optical signal emitted from the second optical output port; A storage unit, used to store a mapping relationship between an optical path difference value and a target gas parameter value; The gas parameter determination unit is used to determine the target gas parameter value corresponding to the detected optical path difference according to the detected optical path difference and the mapping relationship.

9. The gas sensor device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gas sensor device further comprises: The airflow channel comprises a gas inlet to be measured and a gas outlet to be measured, and the micro-nano reflector is located between the gas inlet to be measured and the gas outlet to be measured of the airflow channel.

10. The gas sensor device according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that: The first target gas parameter is the hydrogen concentration of the gas to be measured, and the second target gas parameter is the humidity of the gas to be measured.

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