New York scientists successfully developed a new chip-based methane spectrometer

The process of extracting natural gas from the earth and transporting it through the pipeline releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a major component of natural gas, a greenhouse gas that affects global warming by about 25 times that of carbon dioxide, making it very effective at capturing atmospheric heat. A new chip-based methane spectrometer that is smaller than a dime and may one day be able to monitor large areas of methane leakage more efficiently and easily.

Scientists from the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York, have developed a new methane spectrometer that is smaller and more economical to manufacture than today's standard spectrometers. In the Optics Institute's high-impact journal Optica, the researchers detailed the new spectrometer and showed that it can detect methane gas at concentrations as low as one in 10,000.

Only a small amount of maintenance, high impact resistance
This spectrometer is based on silicon photonics technology, which means it is an optical device made of silicon, the material used to make computer chips. Since such chip-based methane spectrometers can be fabricated using the same high-capacity processing methods as computer chips, spectrometers, along with housings and batteries or solar power, can be as low as a few hundred dollars if mass produced.

William Green, head of the IBM research team, said: "The high-volume processing allows the chip spectrometer to have a more important value proposition than the cost of tens of thousands of methane detection optical sensors available on the market today." "And, no. There are no moving parts and no basic requirements for precise temperature control. This type of sensor can run for many years with little maintenance."

This low-cost, high-quality spectrometer delivers exciting new applications. For example, the IBM team is working with partners in the oil and gas industry to develop a project that uses spectrometers to detect methane leaks, avoiding on-site lookups and repairs in thousands of leaking locations, saving company time and money. .

“In the process of natural gas extraction and distribution, methane may leak into the air when equipment in the well fails, valves become stuck or cracks appear in the pipeline. “We are investigating a type of spectrometer that can be distributed on the wellhead using this chip spectrometer. The method of sensor networks. For example, the data collected by these sensors will be processed using IBM's physical analysis software, which automatically determines the location of the leak and the volume of the leak. ”

Methane is a trace gas that accounts for less than 1% of the Earth's atmospheric volume. Although the researchers have demonstrated methane detection, the same method can be used to detect the presence of other individual trace gases. It can also be used for multiple gas detections simultaneously.

“Our long-term vision is to incorporate these types of sensors into household things such as cell phones or vehicles that people use every day. These sensors can be used to detect pollution, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide or other molecules of interest.” Team member Eric Zhang said. “Because this spectrometer provides a platform for multi-species detection, one day it may also be used for respiratory analysis for health monitoring.”

Reduce the spectrometer
This new device uses a method called absorption spectroscopy, which requires the laser to be at the wavelength that is only absorbed by the molecule being measured. In a conventional absorption spectrum setup, the laser passes through air or free space until it reaches the detector. Detecting the light reaching the detector gives the amount of molecules of interest in the air that are absorbed, while calculating their current concentration.

The new system uses a similar approach, but it is not a free-space device, but rather passes the laser through a narrow silicon waveguide, which is a serpentine pattern 10 cm long above the chip that can measure a range of 16 mm2. Some of the light is trapped inside the waveguide, and about 25% of the light extends into the outside of the silicon into the air, where it can interact with traces of gas molecules that pass near the sensor waveguide. The researchers used a near-infrared laser (1650 nm wavelength) for methane detection.

To improve the sensitivity of the device, the researchers carefully measured and controlled the factors that caused the noise and false absorption signals, fine-tuned the spectrometer design, and determined the geometry of the waveguide to produce satisfactory results.

Side by side comparison
To compare the performance of the new spectrometer with the performance of a standard free-space spectrometer, they placed the device in an environmental chamber to release and control the concentration of methane. The researchers found that chip-based spectrometers are more accurate than equivalent-space free-space sensors and reduce light interaction with air by 75% compared to free-space designs. In addition, the sensitivity of the chip sensor is quantified by the minimum discernible range of methane concentration and shows superior performance over free space spectrometers developed by other laboratories.

“Although silicon photonics systems—especially those that use refractive index changes—have been explored before, the innovation in our work is to use this type of system to detect very weak absorption signals of low concentrations of methane, and A comprehensive analysis of our sensor chip noise and minimum detection threshold."

Current versions of spectrometers require light to pass through the fiber into and out of the chip. However, researchers are working to incorporate light sources and detectors onto the chip, which will create an intrinsic electrical device that does not require fiber optic connections. Unlike current free space sensors, this chip type does not require special samples or optical preparation. Next year, they plan to conduct field tests by placing the spectrometer in a larger network that includes other off-the-shelf sensors.

“Our work shows that all the knowledge behind silicon photonics manufacturing, packaging and component design can be brought into the field of optical sensors, and in principle, low-volume sensor processing in large quantities can ultimately lead to new applications of this technology.” Green said.

(Source: Machine Network)

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