A Dedicated Gas Analysis System Based on Resonant MEMS Sensors for Detection of Illicit Substances in Cargo Containers

Abstract

In this work, a dedicated gas analysis system has been designed to interface resonant micro-cantilever sensors for the detection of illicit substances for the inspection of container and large-volumes freight. In a previous work, we have fabricated diamond micro-cantilever sensors which have been coated with a sensitive layer. A gas analysis cell was developed to hold 8 sensors and allow them to be easily changed. A dedicated electronic read-out circuit provides low-noise detection of all sensors output signal. To complement this existing technology, we are designing a new system to accurately tune temperature and flow parameters of the analyzed gas. In parallel, micro-cantilever sensors have been optimized to increase sensor and gauge sensitivities.

Keywords

• gas analysis
• resonant sensors
• MEMS
• micro-cantilevers
• synthetic diamond
• illicit substances
• cargo containers
• polymers