Leti Launches Consortium for Optical Sensors in Chemical Detection

Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech, has announced the launch of the REDFINCH consortium to develop the next generation of miniaturized, portable optical sensors for chemical detection in both gases and liquids, with initial target applications in the petrochemical and dairy industries.

The consortium of eight European research institutes and companies will focus on developing novel, high-performance, cost-effective chemical sensors, based on mid-IR photonic integrated circuits (MIR PICs). Silicon PICs — integrating optical circuits onto millimeter-size silicon chips — create extremely robust miniature systems, in which discrete components are replaced by on-chip equivalents. This makes them easier to use and reduces their cost dramatically, expected at least by a factor of 10.

To develop these chemical sensors, the consortium must overcome the significant challenge of implementing these capabilities in the 2- to 20-µm wavelength range, where many important chemical and biological species have strong absorption fingerprints. This allows both the detection and concentration measurement of a wide range of gases, liquids, and biomolecules, which are crucial for applications such as health monitoring and diagnosis, detection of biological compounds, and monitoring of toxic gases.

REDFINCH will initially focus on process gas analysis in refineries, gas leak detection in petrochemical plants and pipelines, and protein analysis in liquids for the dairy industry.

Consortium members include Cork Institute of Technology, Université de Montpellier, Technische Universität Wien, mirSense, Argotech AS, Fraunhofer IPM, and Endress+Hauser.