Sensirion Ag

Basf Se Corporation

Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa&#x2014;recherche Et D&#xe9;veloppement

Csem Centre Suisse D'electronique Et De Microtechnique Sa

Lukas Bürgi

Felix Mayer

Markus Graf

Mark Hornung

Ross Stanley

Frank Roeck

Harald Walter

Werner Hunziker

Andreas Rüegg

Marc Von Waldkirch

Pascal Gerner

Zeljko Mrcarica

Nicolas Moeller

David Kiliani

Thomas Uehlinger

Samuel Wehrli

Matthias Studer

Samuel Fuhrer

Alexander Lochbaum

Ralph Steiner Vanha

Guy Voirin

Dominic Böni

Jürgen Söchtig

Jürg Leuthold

Christoph Schanz

Johannes Bühler

David Leuenberger

Silvio Graf

Alexander Dorodnyy

Martina Hitzbleck

Marc Ramuz

Carsten Jochen Winnewisser

Ulrich Muecke

Reto Pfeiffer

Adrian Von Mühlenen

Lukas Steinmann

Stefan Wengle

Marc Stämpfli

Frank Röck

A thermal sensor device serves for determining a concentration of a target gas in a gas sample that further comprises a disturbance gas. The thermal sensor device comprises first and second measurement structures () comprising first and second temperature sensors (TS, TS) and a heater element () operable to cause heat transfer to the measurement structures through the gas sample. Processing circuitry provides heating power (P_) to the heater element and derives an output signal (S) based on a response of the temperature sensors to the heating power, the output signal being indicative of a concentration of the target gas in the gas sample. The first and second measurement structures have different heat dissipation capabilities, and the processing circuitry derives the output signal from a weighted difference of temperature signals from the first and second temperature sensors. Thereby, a cross-sensitivity of the output signal to a concentration change of the disturbance gas may be reduced or eliminated.

Thermal sensor device and method for determining a concentration of a target gas in a gas sample

A photoacoustic gas sensor device for determining a value indicative of a presence or a concentration of a component in a gas comprises a measurement cell enclosing a measurement volume and a gas permeable area in the measurement cell for a gas to enter the measurement volume. An electromagnetic radiation source is arranged to emit electromagnetic radiation into the measurement volume, and a pressure transducer is arranged to measure a sound wave generated by the component in response to an absorption of electromagnetic radiation by the component in the measurement volume. In one aspect, the gas permeable area is represented by a porous gas permeable membrane with an average pore size of the porous gas permeable membrane between 10 nm and 1 μm. In another aspect the gas permeable area is represented by an area of the measurement cell containing holes reaching through an otherwise gas tight material of the measurement cell, with a diameter of the holes between 100 nm and 10 μm.

Photoacoustic gas sensor device

A photodetector comprises a substrate, and supported by the substrate, a configuration to act as optical resonator and to absorb incident radiation of a band, including infrared. The configuration comprises: a resonant frontside structure facing the incident radiation; a backside structure and arranged between the frontside structure and the substrate; and a layer of an active material made from a semiconducting material, and configured to convert at least part of the incident radiation of the band into charge carriers. The frontside structure or the backside structure is made from electrically conducting material and is in contact with the active material. The configuration is configured to selectively absorb the incident radiation of the band. The frontside structure or the backside structure that is in contact with the active material is contacted by electrical contacts for sensing the charge carriers in the active material. The active material comprises amorphous or polycrystalline material.

Meta-surface photodetector

A gas sensor comprises a set of one or more sensor cells (SC) and a substrate (). Each sensor cell (SC) of the set comprises a sensitive film () built from a sensitive material () covering an area of the substrate (). One or more elevated structures () are manufactured in or around said area for preventing the sensitive material () to expand when being applied thereto.

Gas sensor comprising a set of one or more sensor cells

A portable electronic device comprises a chemical sensor that is sensitive to a concentration of a chemical analyte and at least two auxiliary sensors that are sensitive to parameters that are different from the concentration of the chemical analyte. The portable electronic device comprises a control device that receives signals from the chemical sensor and from the auxiliary sensors at a plurality of points in time distributed over a measurement period and correlates the time dependencies of these signals to obtain a corrected reading of the first chemical sensor. The portable electronic device may be employed for breath analysis.

Concentration measurements with a mobile device

A chemical sensor () is described with at least one layer of a metal oxide () arranged between two current injecting electrodes (') with the length (L) of the layer of a metal oxide between the current injecting electrodes being less than 50 microns and one or a pair of voltage sensing electrodes () connected to the layer of a metal oxide () with the electrodes () forming a 3- or 4-terminal arrangement for determining the resistance changes of layer material () excluding series resistances such as contact resistances close to or at at least one of the current injecting electrodes () from the resistance measurement.

Integrated metal oxide chemical sensor

In a method for operating a portable electronic device comprising a chemical sensor, at least one reference reading is taken by the chemical sensor at least one predetermined point in time. At least one compensation value is determined based on at least one reference value wherein each reference value is derived from a result of a corresponding reference reading. A result of an operational reading of the chemical sensor is modified by the at least one compensation value.

Method for operating a portable electronic device

A breath analyzer is described with at least one chemical sensor sensitive to the concentration of a component in a sample of exhaled breath including a compensator for compensating for the effect of variations in the amount of exhaled breath between the user and the sensor location with the chemical sensor being integrated into a portable electronic device, particularly with the sensor being located in an air duct with an opening to the exterior of the housing of the analyzer with the total area of the opening being sufficiently small to restrict effectively mass transport between the exterior and the sensor and/or wherein the compensation includes the compensation for different responses of sensors.

Portable electronic device with breath analyzer

A measuring device is provided for determining the type and/or concentration a gaseous analyte from a set of analytes in a gaseous carrier. It comprises a housing having a passage to a cavity. A gas sensor with a heated metal-oxide sensing layer is arranged in the cavity. In order to gain a better understanding of the type of the analyte, diffusion effects are exploited by taking into account that the diffusion process through the passage as well as the catalytic reaction rate at the metal-oxide sensing layer depend on the type of the analyte. These material parameters can be determined by taking several measurements in a non-steady state of the concentration of the analyte within the cavity or while varying the reaction rate.

Method for determining analyte type and/or concentration with a diffusion based metal oxide gas sensor

In a method for manufacturing a chemical sensor with multiple sensor cells, a substrate is provided and an expansion inhibitor is applied to the substrate for preventing a sensitive material to be applied to an area on the substrate for building a sensitive film of a sensor cell to expand from said area. The sensitive material is provided and the sensitive film is built by contactless dispensing the sensitive material to said area.

Chemical sensor with multiple sensor cells

Method for manufacturing chemical sensor with multiple sensor cells

A system for storing ammonia comprises gas detector that is able to detect gases other than ammonia. The system further comprises thermally activatable ammonia stores, which can be activated to release ammonia upon heating. When the ammonia stores are not heated, the system is below ambient pressure and any leak will cause external gas to enter the system. Therefore, the gas detector is used to detect the presence of such external gas, which allows to detect leaks. The gas detector may be embodied as a thermal detector using a single heater and two temperature sensors for detecting a gas flow as well as external gas.

Ammonia storage system

Embodiments of the disclosed technique disclose an optical device generating light by luminescence comprising a substrate, a waveguide, a pump light source and a photoluminescent layer, wherein the waveguide is positioned between the substrate and the photoluminescent layer, or the photoluminescent layer is positioned between the substrate and the waveguide. The pump light source is provided opposite to the photoluminescent layer at the backside of the substrate. The pump light source is adapted to pump the photoluminescent layer to emit light; and at least some of the emitted light is evanescently coupled into the waveguide.

Light coupling device and system, and method for manufacturing the device and system

The invention relates to a method for forming a pattern on a substrate (S) with an upper surface and a lower surface which comprises the steps of depositing a first layer (E) of an opaque material on the upper surface of the substrate (S), depositing a photosensitive layer (R) such that part of the photosensitive layer (R) covers at least part of the first layer (E), exposing the photosensitive layer (R) to a light beam (L), the light beam (L) impinging on the lower surface of the substrate (S) under an oblique angle (&#x3a6;) of incidence, removing the exposed region of the photosensitive layer (R), depositing a second layer (E) of an opaque material such that part of the second layer (E) covers a remaining region of the photosensitive layer (R), and removing at least a part of the remaining region of the photosensitive layer (R). According to another aspect of the method of the invention anisotropic plasma etching is applied from above the upper surface of the substrate (S) after removal of the exposed region of the photosensitive layer (R) and thereafter the second layer (E) is deposited. The method of the invention can be applied for forming a source electrode and a drain electrode of a thin-film field effect transistor. The invention furthermore relates to an electronic device fabricated by such a method.

Method for forming a pattern on a substrate and electronic device formed thereby

The present invention discloses an optical device able to luminesce, whereby the optical device comprises, inter alia, a luminescent source that is directly or indirectly mechanically coupled to a low-order mode waveguide, such that light emitting from the luminescent source is optically coupled into the low-order mode waveguide. In embodiments of the invention, the distance D between point sources of the luminescent source and the waveguide is about equal to or smaller than the decay length of the exponential tails of the modes supported by the waveguide, thereby obtaining an optical coupling efficiency of at least 3%. Additional and alternative embodiments are claimed and disclosed.

Optical device and system and method for fabricating the device

Growing community of inventors

Zurich, Switzerland

Lukas Bürgi