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VOC Gas Sensing Via Microelectronics-Based Absorption Spectroscopy at 220–330 GHz

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Abstract

Gas sensing by THz wave absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated for several volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using a broadband electronics-based THz wave spectrometer. Spectral absorption is characterized in the frequency range from 220 to 330 GHz for seven VOCs and water vapor in a gas cell at room temperature and pressures of 0.5–10 Torr. Amplitude-modulation is applied to the interrogating radiation, and lock-in detection is used to acquire the transmitted frequency-dependent radiation intensity. For methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, formic acid, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and water vapor, measured transition frequencies agree with literature databases, where available. The present work demonstrates the potential for an all-electronic THz gas sensor for conditions where pressure broadening and line blending occur, as would be found in typical industrial, environmental, and biological gas sensing applications.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CBET-1851291.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

    Tim E. Rice, M. Arshad Zahangir Chowdhury & Matthew A. Oehlschlaeger

  2. Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

    Muhammad Waleed Mansha & Mona M. Hella

  3. Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA

    Ingrid Wilke

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Rice, T.E., Chowdhury, M.A.Z., Mansha, M.W. et al. VOC Gas Sensing Via Microelectronics-Based Absorption Spectroscopy at 220–330 GHz. Appl. Phys. B 126, 152 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-07501-9

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