This paper describes development of a novel mid-infrared light emitting diode (LED) and photodiode (PD) light source/detector combination and use within a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) carbon dioxide gas sensor. The LED/PD based NDIR sensor provides fast stabilisation time (time required to turn on the sensor from cold, warm up, take and report a measurement, and power down again ≈1 second), longevity (>15 years), low power consumption and low cost. Described performance is compatible with “fit and forget” wireless deployed sensors in applications such as indoor air quality monitoring/control & energy conservation in buildings, transport systems, horticultural greenhouses and portable deployment for safety, industrial and medical applications. Fast stabilisation time, low intrinsic power consumption and cycled operation offer typical energy consumption per measurement of mJ's, providing extended operation using battery and/or energy harvesting strategies (measurement interval of ≈ 2 minutes provides >10 years operation from one AA battery). Specific performance data is provided in relation to measurement accuracy and noise, temperature performance, cross sensitivity, measurement range (two pathlength variants are described covering ambient through to 100% gas concentration), comparison with NDIR utilizing thermal source/pyroelectric light source/detector combination and compatibility with energy harvesting. Semiconductor based LED/PD processing together with injection moulded reflective optics and simple assembly provide a route to low cost high volume manufacturing.

GeSn alloys with Sn contents of 8.4 % and 10.7 % are grown pseudomorphically on Ge buffers on Si (001) substrates. The alloys as-grown are compressively strained, and therefore indirect bandgap. Undercut GeSn on Ge microdisk structures are fabricated and strained by silicon nitride stressor layers, which leads to tensile strain in the alloys, and direct bandgap photoluminescence in the 3-5 µm gas sensing window of the electromagnetic spectrum. The use of pseudomorphic layers and external stress mitigates the need for plastic deformation to obtain direct bandgap alloys. It is demonstrated, that the optically pumped light emission overlaps with the methane absorption lines, suggesting that GeSn alloys are well suited for mid-infrared integrated gas sensors on Si chips.

Development of an indoor photovoltaic energy harvesting module for autonomous sensors in building air quality applications.

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Structural and interface properties of an AlN diamond ultraviolet light emitting diode

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In this work, performance improvements are described for a low-power consumption non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) methane (CH4) gas sensor using customised optical thin film bandpass filters (BPFs) centered at 3300 nm. BPFs shape the spectral characteristics of the combined mid-infrared III–V based light emitting diode (LED)/photodiode (PD) light source/detector optopair, enhancing the NDIR CH4 sensor performance. The BPFs, deposited using a novel microwave plasma-assisted pulsed DC sputter deposition process, provide room temperature deposition directly onto the temperature-sensitive PD heterostructure. BPFs comprise germanium (Ge) and niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) alternating high and low refractive index layers, respectively. Two different optical filter designs are progressed with BPF bandwidths (BWs) of 160 and 300 nm. A comparison of the modelled and measured NDIR sensor performance is described, highlighting the maximised signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the minimised cross-talk performance benefits. The BPF spectral stability for various environmental temperature and humidity conditions is demonstrated.

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