International Business Machines Corporation

Imec Vzw

Universiteit Gent

Giorgio Signorello

Bernd W Gotsmann

Heike E Riel

Siegfried Friedrich Karg

Emanuel Loertscher

Joris Van Campenhout

Anton Vasiliev

Orges Furxhi

Olivier Rousseaux

The present disclosure relates to an optical alignment compensation system for a gas detection system, in particular, to an integrated alignment compensation system for an open-path gas sensing system. The optical alignment compensation system of the disclosure is able to compensate for unwanted drifts of a retroreflector. The optical alignment system comprises an array of transceiver pairs, wherein each transceiver pair is configured to transmit and receive light with an optical spectrum in an absorption region of a gas to be detected. Further, it comprises a retroreflector arranged at a nominal position and configured to reflect the light. Further, it comprises an optical element arranged and configured to direct the light from at least one of the transceiver pairs along an optical path through the gas to the retroreflector, to receive the light reflected by the retroreflector along the optical path, and to direct the reflected light to the respective transceiver pair. Further, it comprises a control unit configured to select one of the transceiver pairs for transmitting and receiving the light, wherein the control unit is configured to select the transceiver pair that receives the reflected light with the highest signal response.

Optical alignment compensation system for a gas detection system

An optical spectrometer contains a photodiode and a straining mechanism for imposing adjustable strain on the photodiode. The spectrometer includes a measurement apparatus for measuring variation of photocurrent with strain at different values of the adjustable strain imposed by the straining mechanism. Adjusting the strain allows adjustment of the band gap Eof the photosensitive region of the photodiode, and this determines the cut-off energy for absorption of photons. Measuring variation of photocurrent with strain at different values of the adjustable strain imposed by the straining mechanism allows study of photons within a desired energy range of the band gap energy corresponding to each strain value.

Optical spectrometer

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Zurich, Switzerland

Giorgio Signorello