Bionic olfaction system and flexible electronic nose thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a bionic olfaction system and a flexible electronic nose thereof, and the system comprises a fabric substrate, a flexible gas molecule information sensing module, a flexible ring oscillator, and a flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module. The flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator and the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module are all arranged on the fabric substrate, and the flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator and the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module are electrically connected in sequence. According to the invention, the flexibility of the electronic nose is higher, the electronic nose can better fit the surrounding environment, and the electronic nose is endowed with the characteristics of portability, wearable performance and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of bionic olfactory perception, and in particular to a bionic olfactory system and a flexible electronic nose thereof. Background Art

[0002] At present, flexible olfactory sensors used in the fields of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and wearable electronics are important research and application directions for new intelligent olfactory sensors. However, the modules in existing flexible olfactory sensors are not flexible enough, which reduces the flexibility and wearability of electronic noses. Moreover, existing flexible olfactory sensors need to be improved in terms of biocompatibility and conformal integration of human body parts, which results in the electronic nose not being able to match human body characteristics well when integrated with the human body, thus making it insufficiently wearable.

[0003] Moreover, most existing electronic noses use a single sensor unit and only have the single ability to detect gas molecules. Their sensitivity and specificity need to be improved. Some olfactory systems and their electronic noses have introduced 2-unit or 4-unit sensor arrays, but the overall integration is still limited, resulting in the internal sensor integration of the olfactory system being unable to meet the requirements of accurate detection of multi-component target gas molecules in real life, and it is difficult to capture weak gas molecule information. The signal conversion characteristics need to be enhanced, and different types of gas molecules cannot be effectively distinguished, resulting in deviations in detection results and low detection efficiency.

[0004] In addition, the information storage and computing modules used in existing electronic noses often use transistors or a combination of transistors and capacitors to simulate synapses. Due to the size and function of transistors and capacitors, the integration density is low, resulting in a variety of problems such as large size, difficulty in wearing, slow computing speed, and low efficiency in gas molecule detection. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the technical problems existing in the background technology, the present invention provides a bionic olfactory system and a flexible electronic nose thereof.

[0006] The present invention proposes a flexible electronic nose that realizes sensing, storage and computing based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit, comprising: a fabric substrate, a flexible gas molecule information sensing module, a flexible ring oscillator, and a flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module. The flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module are all arranged on the fabric substrate, and the flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module are electrically connected in sequence;

[0007] Among them, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module is used to sense single-component or multi-component gas molecule information;

[0008] The flexible ring oscillator is used to convert the voltage change signal after the flexible gas molecule information sensing module senses the single-component or multi-component gas molecule information into a voltage pulse signal;

[0009] The flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module is used for processing, storing and calculating according to the voltage pulse signal.

[0010] Preferably, the flexible substrate is provided with interdigital electrodes for electrically connecting the flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator, and the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module in sequence.

[0011] Preferably, the fabric substrate comprises one of pure cotton fabric, silk fabric, wool fabric, polyester-cotton blended fabric and polyester-acrylic blended fabric.

[0012] Preferably, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module comprises an interdigital electrode layer disposed on the fabric substrate and a gas molecule information sensing sensor layer disposed on the interdigital electrode layer;

[0013] The interdigital electrode layer includes a plurality of interdigital electrode units, and the plurality of interdigital electrode units are arranged in an array on the fabric substrate;

[0014] The gas molecule information sensing sensor layer includes a plurality of gas molecule information sensing units, and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged on the plurality of interdigital electrode units in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0015] Preferably, the gas molecule information sensing unit is made of one of tin oxide nanoparticles, tungsten oxide nanoparticles, zinc oxide nanoparticles, indium oxide nanoparticles, and a composite material of nanoparticles and other materials;

[0016] Among them, the composite materials of nanoparticles and other materials include conductive polymer / tin oxide nanoparticle composite materials and carbon nanomaterial / tungsten oxide nanoparticle composite materials.

[0017] Preferably, the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module comprises a memristor cross array formed by a plurality of memristors, and the plurality of memristors and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0018] Preferably, the memristor comprises an upper electrode layer, a functional layer and a lower electrode layer which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom.

[0019] Preferably, the functional layer is made of any one or two of an organic high molecular polymer and an inorganic metal salt; wherein the organic high molecular polymer includes polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene oxide; wherein the inorganic metal salt includes lithium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate and magnesium sulfate.

[0020] Preferably, the flexible ring oscillator is made of high molecular polymer material, copper fluorophthalocyanine and poly α-sixithiophene material.

[0021] The present invention also proposes a bionic olfactory system, comprising a flexible electronic nose that integrates sensing, storage and computing based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit as described in any one of the above.

[0022] During specific implementation, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module senses the single-component or multi-component gas molecule information; the flexible ring oscillator converts the voltage change signal after the flexible gas molecule information sensing module senses the single-component or multi-component gas molecule information into a voltage pulse signal; the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module processes, stores and calculates according to the voltage pulse signal.

[0023] Compared with the existing large-volume and rigid electronic nose, the present invention innovatively introduces a fabric substrate with excellent commonality, and uses it as a substrate to prepare a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module, a fabric-based flexible ring oscillator, and a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module. The fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the fabric-based flexible ring oscillator, and the fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module cooperate to detect single-component or multi-component gas signals, integrate, store, and calculate the input gas molecule information and distinguish gas types.

[0024] Moreover, the electronic nose composed of a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module, a fabric-based flexible ring oscillator, and a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module is more flexible and can better fit the surrounding environment, giving it portability and wearability. It has good biological activity and compatibility, is easy to realize a bionic perception system, and is expected to be applied to olfactory brain-computer interfaces; at the same time, it prolongs the effective time of signal acquisition and improves the working efficiency of neural electrodes.

[0025] In addition, due to the wavy fiber structure of the fabric substrate, which gives it the characteristics of high specific surface area and high air permeability, the substrate has abundant pores and air gaps inside, making its density smaller than that of rigid materials, reducing the volume and weight of the system. At the same time, it is beneficial to the interaction between the fabric substrate and gas molecules, significantly enhancing the area of ​​interaction between gas molecules and gas-sensitive materials on the surface of the fabric substrate, and enhancing the perception and detection capabilities of gas molecule information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flexible electronic nose that integrates sensing, storage and computing based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments of the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention proposes a flexible electronic nose that realizes sensing, storage and computing based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit, comprising: a fabric substrate 1, a flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, a flexible ring oscillator 3, and a flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module 4. The flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, the flexible ring oscillator 3 and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module 4 are all arranged on the fabric substrate 1, and the flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, the flexible ring oscillator 3 and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module 4 are electrically connected in sequence.

[0030] During specific implementation, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2 is used to sense single-component or multi-component gas molecule information; the flexible ring oscillator 3 is used to convert the voltage change signal after the flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2 senses single-component or multi-component gas molecule information into a voltage pulse signal; the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 is used to process, store and calculate according to the voltage pulse signal.

[0031] The present invention innovatively introduces a fabric substrate with excellent commonality, and uses it as a substrate to prepare a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, a fabric-based flexible ring oscillator 3, and a fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4. The fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, the fabric-based flexible ring oscillator 3, and the fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 cooperate to detect single-component or multi-component gas signals, integrate, store, and calculate the input gas molecule information and distinguish gas types.

[0032] Moreover, the electronic nose formed by the fabric-based flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, the fabric-based flexible ring oscillator 3, and the fabric-based flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module 4 has higher flexibility and can better fit the surrounding environment, giving it portability and wearability, good biological activity and compatibility, and is easy to realize a bionic perception system, which is expected to be applied to olfactory brain-computer interfaces; at the same time, it prolongs the effective time of signal acquisition and improves the working efficiency of neural electrodes.

[0033] In addition, since the wavy fiber structure of the fabric base 1 gives it the characteristics of high specific surface area and high air permeability, the substrate has abundant pores and air gaps inside, so that its density is smaller than that of rigid materials, reducing the volume and weight of the system. At the same time, it is beneficial to the interaction between the fabric substrate and the gas molecules, significantly enhancing the area of ​​interaction between the gas molecules and the gas-sensitive materials on the surface of the fabric substrate, and enhancing the perception and detection capabilities of gas molecule information.

[0034] Specifically, interdigital electrodes for electrically connecting the flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2, the flexible ring oscillator 3, and the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 in sequence are provided on the flexible substrate.

[0035] In this embodiment, the fabric base 1 includes one of pure cotton fabric, silk fabric, wool fabric, polyester-cotton blended fabric and polyester-acrylic blended fabric.

[0036] Among them, silk fabrics include silk and rayon, and wool fabrics include wool, cashmere and rabbit hair.

[0037] In this embodiment, the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 is also used to connect biological efferent nerves to facilitate the construction of an artificial-biological neural network.

[0038] In this embodiment, the flexible ring oscillator 3 is made of copper fluorophthalocyanine (N-type semiconductor) and poly α-sixithiophene (P-type semiconductor) materials.

[0039] Specifically, a flexible ring oscillator 3 is prepared on a fabric substrate 1: copper fluorophthalocyanine (N-type semiconductor) and poly α-sixithiophene (P-type semiconductor) materials are selected, and the output and input ends of three or more odd-numbered NOT gates are connected end to end to construct a device unit for bionic signal processing and transmission.

[0040] Among them, high molecular polymer materials are used as insulating materials, pentacene, polythiophene, etc. are used as P-type materials, phthalocyanine compounds, pyrene imide, etc. are used as N-type materials, and the main circuit modules include inverters and transmission gates. A flexible ring oscillator 3 based on organic materials is constructed to convert the voltage changes detected by the gas molecule sensor into voltage pulse signals (0, 1 signals).

[0041] In this embodiment, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module 2 includes an interdigital electrode layer disposed on the fabric substrate 1 and a gas molecule information sensing sensor layer disposed on the interdigital electrode layer;

[0042] The interdigital electrode layer includes a plurality of interdigital electrode units, and the plurality of interdigital electrode units are arranged in an array on the fabric substrate 1;

[0043] The gas molecule information sensing sensor layer includes a plurality of gas molecule information sensing units, and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged on the plurality of interdigital electrode units in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0044] In one specific embodiment, the interdigital electrode layer is made of conductive paste, conductive carbon black, conductive polyaniline or conductive silver paste.

[0045] Specifically, liquid metal gallium indium tin alloy is prepared on the surface of the fabric substrate 1 by brush coating or drop coating process to prepare the interdigital electrode layer.

[0046] In one specific embodiment, the interdigital electrode layer includes 16 interdigital electrode units, and the 16 interdigital electrode units are arranged in 4×4 rows on the fabric substrate 1. Similarly, the gas molecule information sensing sensor layer includes 16 gas molecule information sensing units, and the 16 gas molecule information sensing units are arranged one by one on the 16 interdigital electrode units, so that the 16 gas molecule information sensing units also form a gas molecule information sensing array.

[0047] In one specific embodiment, multiple gas molecule information sensing units are used to sense the same gas, so as to accurately detect multiple gases at the same time.

[0048] In another specific embodiment, a plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are respectively used to sense different gases, so as to detect a plurality of different gases at the same time, thereby achieving the purpose of sensing a plurality of gases in a complex atmosphere.

[0049] In one specific embodiment, each gas molecule information sensing unit is made of one of SnO2 nanoparticles, tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, indium oxide (In2O3) nanoparticles, and a composite material of nanoparticles and other materials.

[0050] With such configuration, the gas molecule information sensing sensor layer in this embodiment can achieve highly sensitive detection of one or more gases such as NO2, NH3, C2H5OH, etc.

[0051] Among them, composite materials of nanoparticles and other materials include conductive polymer / SnO2 nanoparticle composite materials (such as polyaniline / SnO2) and carbon nanomaterial / WO3 nanoparticle composite materials (such as carbon nanotube / WO3).

[0052] In this embodiment, the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 includes a plurality of memristors, and the plurality of memristors are arranged in a cross array on the fabric substrate 1. That is, the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module 4 includes a memristor cross array formed by a plurality of memristors, and the plurality of memristors and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0053] The flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module 4 in this embodiment uses a memristor instead of a traditional transistor-capacitor to simulate synapses, which not only reduces the density and module size, but also enables the continuous change of synaptic weights when simulating neural synapses. Compared with the traditional storage-computing module, this embodiment also realizes the integration of storage and computing achieved by one device, which can not only realize the integration of storage and computing and improve the integration of neural networks, but also improve the computing speed of artificial neural networks when used as artificial afferent nerves, so that artificial neural networks not only have the ability to learn and remember, but also their functions become more diversified.

[0054] Among them, the sensing processing method of the memristor cross array is based on state logic to perform arbitrary Boolean logic operations. The high resistance state is 1 and the low resistance state is 0. The principle of resistance value calculation based on the fabric-based gas sensing unit is the high and low resistance value. At the same time, the state logic calculation occurs directly at the location of data storage, realizing the integration of calculation and storage.

[0055] For example, when the gas molecule information sensing sensor layer includes SnO2 gas molecule sensing units, In2O3 gas molecule sensing units, WO3 gas molecule sensing units and WO3 gas molecule sensing units, and the target gas is nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas, the carrier electron concentration at the SnO2 gas molecule sensing unit decreases, the conductivity decreases, the memristor inputs a low resistance value, and is recorded as 0; the carrier electron concentration at the In2O3 gas molecule sensing unit decreases, the conductivity decreases, the memristor inputs a low resistance value, and is recorded as 0; the carrier hole concentration at the NiO gas molecule sensing unit increases, the conductivity increases, the memristor inputs a high resistance value, and is recorded as 1; the carrier electron concentration at the WO3 gas molecule sensing unit decreases, the conductivity decreases, the memristor inputs a low resistance value, and is recorded as 0; therefore, the information sensed by the first four gas molecule sensing units is 0010.

[0056] By analogy, for the gas molecule information sensing sensor layer composed of 16 gas molecule sensing units, when the target gas is nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas, the output is 16-bit binary information.

[0057] In this embodiment, the memristor includes an upper electrode layer, a functional layer, and a lower electrode layer arranged in sequence from top to bottom.

[0058] In one specific embodiment, the lower electrode layer is made of Pt material, the functional layer is a memristive functional film made of NbOx, a memristive functional dielectric material, and the upper electrode layer is made of Pt material.

[0059] Specifically, the lower electrode layer is prepared on the above-mentioned fabric base layer 1 by electron beam evaporation, and the material of the lower electrode layer is Pt; the functional layer is prepared on the lower electrode layer by magnetron sputtering to form a memristor functional film by using NbOx, a memristor functional medium material; the upper electrode layer is prepared on the above-mentioned memristor functional layer by electron beam evaporation, and the material of the upper electrode layer is Pt.

[0060] Of course, in other embodiments, the functional layer may also be made of any one or both of organic high molecular polymer and inorganic metal salt.

[0061] Among them, organic high molecular polymers include polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene oxide.

[0062] Among them, the inorganic metal salts include lithium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate and magnesium sulfate.

[0063] The present invention also proposes a bionic olfactory system, comprising a flexible electronic nose that integrates sensing, storage and computing based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit as described in any one of the above.

[0064] The above description is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make equivalent replacements or changes according to the technical scheme and inventive concept of the present invention within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit that realizes sensing, storage and computing, characterized in that: include: A fabric substrate, a flexible gas molecule information sensing module, a flexible ring oscillator, and a flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module. The flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator, and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module are all arranged on the fabric substrate, and the flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator, and the flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module are electrically connected in sequence; Among them, the flexible gas molecule information sensing module is used to sense single-component or multi-component gas molecule information; The flexible ring oscillator is used to convert the voltage change signal after the flexible gas molecule information sensing module senses the single-component or multi-component gas molecule information into a voltage pulse signal; The flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module is used for processing, storing and calculating according to the voltage pulse signal.

2. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The flexible substrate is provided with interdigital electrodes for electrically connecting the flexible gas molecule information sensing module, the flexible ring oscillator, and the flexible gas molecule information storage and calculation module in sequence.

3. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The fabric base includes one of pure cotton fabric, silk fabric, wool fabric, polyester-cotton blended fabric and polyester-acrylic blended fabric.

4. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The flexible gas molecule information sensing module comprises an interdigital electrode layer arranged on a fabric substrate and a gas molecule information sensing sensor layer arranged on the interdigital electrode layer; The interdigital electrode layer includes a plurality of interdigital electrode units, and the plurality of interdigital electrode units are arranged in an array on the fabric substrate; The gas molecule information sensing sensor layer includes a plurality of gas molecule information sensing units, and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged on the plurality of interdigital electrode units in a one-to-one correspondence.

5. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The gas molecule information sensing unit is made of one of tin oxide nanoparticles, tungsten oxide nanoparticles, zinc oxide nanoparticles, indium oxide nanoparticles, conductive polymer / tin oxide nanoparticle composite materials and carbon nanomaterials / tungsten oxide nanoparticle composite materials.

6. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The flexible gas molecule information storage and computing module includes a memristor cross array formed by a plurality of memristors, and the plurality of memristors and the plurality of gas molecule information sensing units are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

7. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 6 is characterized in that: The memristor includes an upper electrode layer, a functional layer and a lower electrode layer which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom.

8. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The functional layer is made of any one or two of NbOx, organic high molecular polymer and inorganic metal salt; wherein the organic high molecular polymer includes polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene oxide; wherein the inorganic metal salt includes lithium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate and magnesium sulfate.

9. The flexible electronic nose based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit to realize sensing, storage and computing integration according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The flexible ring oscillator is made of high molecular polymer material, copper fluorophthalocyanine and poly α-sixithiophene material.

10. A bionic olfactory system, characterized in that: It comprises a flexible electronic nose that realizes sensing, storage and computing integrated based on a fabric-based gas sensing unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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