Micro Light Plates for Photoactivated Micro-Power Gas Sensors

In this contribution we present a highly miniaturized device that integrates a photoactive material with a highly efficient LED light source. This so-called micro light plate configuration (µLP) allows for maximizing the irradiance impinging on the photoactive material, with a minimum power consumption, excellent uniformity and accurate control of the illumination. We demonstrate that, with the µLP approach, very efficient low power gas sensors can be built, and provide a detailed analysis of the rationales behind such improvement, as well as a quantitative model and a set of design rules to implement it in further integrated applications. As a demonstrator, we will describe a NO2 gas sensor operating in the part per billion range (ppb) with microwatt (µW) power consumption. These are the best figures reported to date in conductometric metal-oxides (MOX) sensors operated with light (instead of heat) at room temperature.