Semiconductor Waveguide Resonator Gas Sensing on a Single Chip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas detecting devices, particularly those used for breath alcohol testing, face challenges in miniaturization, high production cost, power consumption, and sensitivity, with semiconductor sensors prone to contamination and interference from substances other than alcohol, and spectroscopic sensors being difficult to miniaturize and costly.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor gas sensor device integrating a laser structure and optical waveguide resonator on a compound semiconductor chip, utilizing a single crystalline substrate with epitaxially grown layers, where the optical waveguide resonator is partly free-hanging and optically coupled to the laser structure, allowing efficient optical coupling and sensitive detection of volatile substances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If semiconductor metal oxide sensors are used for breath alcohol testing, then the device size and cost are reduced, but the sensors become prone to contamination and interference from substances other than alcohol
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functional elements (laser structure, optical waveguide resonator, detector) into a single integrated semiconductor device. This integration allows the system to achieve spectrophotometer-level accuracy while maintaining the small size and low cost of semiconductor devices, resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical spectrophotometer systems with a miniaturized semiconductor-based optical system. By using epitaxially grown semiconductor layers to create laser structures and waveguide resonators, the invention achieves spectral analysis capability in a compact form factor, eliminating the need for large mechanical components.
2Measurement precision
If spectroscopic sensors with multipass cells are used, then the sensitivity and accuracy are improved, but the device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional linear optical paths to a three-dimensional integrated semiconductor structure. The optical waveguide resonator uses evanescent field interaction in a compact volume, achieving high sensitivity without the need for long optical paths or complex multipass arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent nests multiple functional layers within a single semiconductor substrate. The laser structure, waveguide resonator, and detector are vertically integrated through epitaxial growth, creating a compact nested architecture that achieves high sensitivity in a minimal footprint.
3Measurement precision
If traditional spectrophotometer technology is used for evidential breath testers, then the accuracy is very high, but the devices are large and consume large amounts of power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating parameters of the optical system by using resonant enhancement in the waveguide structure. This resonance effect amplifies the interaction between light and the sample, achieving high sensitivity at low power consumption, unlike traditional spectrophotometers that require high-power light sources.
4Ease of manufacture
If semiconductor sensors are miniaturized, then the production cost and power consumption are reduced, but the detection sensitivity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical resonance (analogous to mechanical vibration) in the waveguide structure to enhance the detection signal. The resonant oscillation of the electromagnetic field within the compact semiconductor structure amplifies the interaction with volatile substances, maintaining high sensitivity despite miniaturization.
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
The solution provides miniaturized, cost-effective, and reliable gas sensors with low power consumption, capable of accurately detecting volatile substances by integrating critical elements on a single chip, enabling batch processing and precise fabrication.
Implementation Method 1
The optical emission layer is present at least in the laser structure and is arranged to emit electromagnetic radiation within a specific wavelength band
Implementation Method 2
an optical waveguide resonator formed in a same compound semiconductor... The optical waveguide resonator is at least partly constituted by one part of the optical propagation layer
Implementation Method 3
The optical waveguide resonator is arranged to resonate in the specific wavelength band
Implementation Method 4
The laser structure is provided adjacent to a portion of the optical waveguide resonator, thereby providing means for transmitting electromagnetic radiation within the specific wavelength band generated in the optical emission layer of the laser structure to the optical waveguide resonator
Implementation Method 5
a means for detecting optical power dissipation of an electromagnetic wave propagating in the optical waveguide resonator
Data Source
AI summary
Gas detecting devices and in particular volatile substance sensors such as breath alcohol devices sensors. The semiconductor gas sensor device includes a laser structure and an optical waveguide resonator formed in a same compound semiconductor which includes at least one optical emission layer and one optical propagation layer. The optical waveguide resonator is formed in the optical propagation layer and is to its greater part separated from the remaining portion of the optical propagation layer. The laser structure is provided adjacent to a portion of the optical waveguide resonator and arranged to transmit electromagnetic radiation at a specific wavelength band to the optical waveguide resonator arranged to resonate at that specific wavelength band.