CEA-Leti builds prototype of next-generation mid-infrared optical sensors for portable devices

SAN FRANCISCO - Feb. CEA-Leti today announced it has prototyped a next-generation optical chemical sensor using mid-infrared silicon photonics that can be integrated in smartphones and other portable devices. Coin-size, On-chip Sensors that Combine High Performance and - Low Power Consumption Presented in Paper at SPIE Photonics West 2019. Mid-IR chemical sensors operate in the spectral range of 2.5µm to 12µm, and are considered the paradigm of innovative silicon-photonic devices. In less than a decade, chemical sensing has become a key application for these devices because of the growing potential of spectroscopy, materials processing, and chemical and biomolecular sensing, as well as security and industrial applications. Measurement in this spectral range provides highly selective, sensitive and unequivocal identification of chemicals. The coin-size, on-chip, IoT-ready sensors prototyped by Leti combine high performance and low power consumption and enable such consumer uses as air-quality monitoring in homes and vehicles, and wearable health and well-being applications.