Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft

Christoph Roth

Tetsu Yamamoto

Kenji Motosugi

Yuan Liu

Masayuki Arai

Werner Prass

Hans-Ulrich Simmrock

An optical sensor apparatus for detecting a vapor of an organic solvent is characterized by a simple structure which allows easy manufacture, high reliability, low cost, compactness in size, and portability. The optical sensor apparatus has a light source unit which emits light for irradiating a polymer thin film formed on a flat reflecting substrate of a sensing element. Light reflected by the sensing element is detected by a light detecting unit. The light source unit, the sensing element, and the light detecting unit are integrally supported by a housing. The polymer thin film which comes into contact with a vapor of an organic solvent causes a change in the thickness and a reflective index thereof. This change is utilized to detect the existence and/or concentration of a vapor of an organic solvent.

Optical sensor apparatus for detecting vapor of organic solvent

A method for identifying a single fuel vapor in an atmosphere of interest that is selected from the group consisting of at least two fuels and that is the sole fuel component of the atmosphere, comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of measuring means that are at least equal in number to the types of fuels that compose the fuel group and which have different sensitivities to the respective fuel vapors; presetting the relationship between the magnitudes of the outputs from the respective measuring means at various fuel vapor concentrations in such a manner that it differs from one fuel vapor to another; placing said measuring means in the atmosphere of interest containing said single fuel vapor as the sole fuel component; measuring the concentration of that fuel vapor; determining the relationship between the magnitudes of outputs as obtained from the respective measuring means; and comparing the thus determined relationship with the preset relationships, thereby identifying the fuel vapor in the atmosphere of interest. This method enables positive identification of a particular fuel vapor without errors. An apparatus for implementing this method is also provided.

Sensor for distinguishing fuel vapors

Optical sensor for detection of chemical species

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Munchen, Germany

Christoph Roth