Binbin Weng, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded a patent for the invention of a miniaturized photonic crystal gas sensor.
“With the rapid advancement of IoT (Internet of Things) trends, there is a significant demand for modern IoT-based chemical sensors that possess small size, low weight, low power consumption and cost advantages, but such technology is not currently available on the market,” Weng said. “This patent protects the promotion of our disruptive idea. It also represents an important step towards fulfilling our goal of creating a revolutionary new chemical sensing technology for seamless integration into the future IoT infrastructure.”
Weng's invention holds tremendous potential for applications across various industries, including oil and gas, health and the environment, while maintaining a long lifespan of more than 10 years. Moreover, this sensor employs technologies that promise to detect minuscule increases in the concentration of hard-to-detect gases in complex environments. Improving the sensing capability of devices that detect major greenhouse gases like methane will improve the monitoring of atmospheric pollutants.
“The key innovative aspect of this invention lies in the development of an active photonic crystal honeycomb membrane,” Weng said. “This sensor structure achieves intrinsic integration of both the light source and gas sampling cell within a single intracavity light-emitting component. Consequently, the sensing system’s footprint is significantly minimized, without compromising its ability to effectively detect and measure gas properties.”
Learn more about Weng’s research group and about the patent: Patent No: US 11,624,742 B2, issued April 11, 2023.
Weng is a faculty fellow for the Institute of Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems, director of the Microfabrication Research and Education Center Cleanroom Laboratories, and team lead for one of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnership’s Big Idea Challenge projects: X-GEM: Enhancing Future Community Sustainability via Greenhouse Gas Emission Monitoring.
