Towards the realization of a MEMS-based photoacoustic chemical sensor using ultracompact EC-QCL (SpriteIR)

Traditionally, chemical sensing platforms have been hampered by the opposing concerns of maximizing sensor capability while minimizing package size. Current sensors, although reasonably sized, are geared to more classical chemical threats, and the ability to expand their capabilities to a broader range of emerging threats is uncertain. Recently, photoacoustic spectroscopy, employed in a sensor format, has shown enormous potential to address these ever-changing threats, while maintaining a compact sensor design. The objective of the present work is to demonstrate the detection capability of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based photoacoustic chemical sensor using SpriteIR, an ultracompact external cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL).