Low Power Gas Sensor Using Chemical Getter for Non-Reactive Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas sensors for detecting non-reactive gases like methane require high temperatures to dissociate molecules, leading to high power consumption, which is not suitable for portable devices.
Innovation Solution
A gas sensing system that uses a chemical getter element to remove reactive gas species at room temperature, allowing for the measurement of non-reactive gas concentrations without heating, utilizing a sensing chamber and pressure sensor to determine gas concentrations with minimal power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high temperature heating is applied to dissociate methane molecules, then the reactivity of non-reactive gas is improved, but power consumption increases to hundreds of mW
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating temperature parameter from high temperature (400°C+) to room temperature, fundamentally altering how the sensing process works. Instead of heating to dissociate molecules, the system uses chemical getters to selectively remove reactive gases at room temperature, enabling low-power operation while maintaining detection capability through pressure measurements of remaining non-reactive gases
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes reactive gas species from the mixture using chemical getter elements before measurement. By selectively removing reactive components (oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide) through chemical reactions at room temperature, the system isolates the non-reactive target gases, enabling accurate detection without the need for high-temperature dissociation
2Reliability
If high temperature heating is applied to make non-reactive gas reactive, then gas reactivity is improved, but the sensor becomes unsuitable for portable applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating temperature parameter from high temperature (400°C+) to room temperature, fundamentally altering how the sensing process works. Instead of heating to dissociate molecules, the system uses chemical getters to selectively remove reactive gases at room temperature, enabling low-power operation while maintaining detection capability through pressure measurements of remaining non-reactive gases
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal/mechanical heating system with a chemical reaction-based system. Instead of using thermal energy to dissociate molecules, the system employs chemical getters that react selectively with reactive gas species, substituting a chemical process for a thermal-mechanical process and enabling portable deployment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient detection and measurement of non-reactive gas concentrations at room temperature with low power consumption, suitable for portable applications by chemically reacting with reactive gases and measuring residual non-reactive gas pressures.
Implementation Method 1
The chemical getter element removes the reactive gas species of the gas sample through chemical reaction of the reactive gases with the chemical getter element at room temperature
Implementation Method 2
a pressure sensor device configured to measure a pressure of non-reactive gas species of the gas sample which remains in the sensing chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods are provided for detecting and measuring the concentration of non-reactive gases in a given environment, without having to increase the reactivity of the non-reactive gases through thermal heating. For example, a gas sensor device includes a sensing chamber, a chemical getter element disposed in the sensing chamber, and a pressure sensor device. The sensing chamber is configured to capture a gas sample. The chemical getter element is configured to remove reactive gas species of the gas sample through chemical reaction of the reactive gas species with the chemical getter element at room temperature. The pressure sensor device is configured to measure a pressure of non-reactive gas species of the gas sample, which remains in the sensing chamber after removal of the reactive gas species from the sensing chamber. The pressure measurement is used to determine an amount of the non-reactive gas species present in the sample.