Photonic integrated sensor based on porous materials for Mid Infrared detection of volatile organic compounds – MID-VOC

The MID-VOC project aims at developing a highly innovative integrated optical spectroscopic sensor to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the Mid-Infrared from exhaled breath. Indeed VOCs exhibit broad absorption features in this wavelength range. These sensors are based on optical waveguide made of porous silicon (PSi) to take advantage of the opened pores in order to obtain a low limit of detection. To ensure selective detection of VOCs, two types of functionalization of PSi will be considered: an inorganic approach by using metal oxide particles whereas the second approach will use self-assembly monolayer (SAM). So, the project will consist in the design, functionalization, processing and characterization of mid-IR sensors based on functionalized porous silicon layers. The development of this optical sensor will be used to develop breath analyzing set-up with high accuracy for non-invasive, real-time and point-of-care disease diagnosis and metabolic status. At the end of the project, we will provide a highly sensitive and specific analytical device based on our optical platform with a technology at the TRL 4.