INTEGRATED SENSOR ARRAY FOR ANALYSIS OF MULTICOMPONENT GAS-MIXTURES

A new device has been proposed and tested experimentally for the discr imination of gases in ''electronic nose'' systems. The device consists of an array of surface-acoustic wave (SAW) sensors positioned on a si ngle anisotropic substrate with a common gas-sensitive coating for eac h sensor. The specificity of the sensors is provided entirely by the e lastic anisotropy of the single-crystal substrate: changes in the dire ction of propagation of the wave through the gas-sensitive film deposi ted on the anisotropic substrate are accompanied by changes in the par tial components of the mechanical displacement of the wave and corresp onding contributions to the resultant SAW ''response.'' (C) 1998 Ameri can Institute of Physics.