Nano gas sensor system based on a hybrid nanostructure sensor array, electronics, algorithms, and normalized cloud data to detect, measure and optimize detection of gases to provide highly granular and actionable gas sensing information

Abstract

A gas sensor architecture and implementation, based on hybrid nanostructures, combining a plurality of inter-dependent technologies, including chemical engineering and material science, embedded electronics at board and IC level, MEMS, data science, mobile and Cloud-based applications, to deliver a combination of performance and functional attributes in a solution that is manufacturable in very high volume and will enable the collection of highly granular information related to the presence and concentration of target gases in ambient air.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sensor array comprising a plurality of sensing elements, wherein each of the plurality of sensing elements are functionalized with a deposited mixture consisting of hybrid nanostructures and a molecular formulation specifically targeting at least one of a plurality of gases, and wherein each of the plurality of sensing elements comprises a resistance and a capacitance, and wherein at least one resistance and capacitance are altered when the interacting with gaseous chemical compounds. 
     
     
         2 . The sensor array of  claim 1 , wherein the change in resistance or capacitance can be measured, quantified, and further processed for identification of gases and concentration measurement. 
     
     
         3 . The sensor array of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of sensor elements forms an array of sensing channels, wherein each sensing channel generates a signature, and wherein the processing comprises processing the signature using a pattern recognition algorithm, will enable the detection of multiple gases at the same time. 
     
     
         4 . The sensor array of  claim 3 , wherein at least one of the channels measures humidity. 
     
     
         5 . The sensor array of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing element os designed such that the hybrid nanostructures and molecular formulations can be deposited using drop casting or electro-chemical deposition. 
     
     
         6 . The sensor array of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing element comprises a MEMS substrate. 
     
     
         7 . A sensor system comprising:
 a sensor array comprising a plurality of sensing elements, wherein each of the plurality of sensing elements are functionalized with a deposited mixture consisting of hybrid nanostructures and a molecular formulation specifically targeting at least one of a plurality of gases, and wherein each of the plurality of sensing elements comprises a resistance and a capacitance, and wherein at least one resistance and capacitance are altered when the interacting with gaseous chemical compounds;   a transducer configured to detect changes to capacitance, resistance or both of each of the plurality of sensing elements of the multi-channel gas sensor array and produce an analog signal representative of the changes;   analog signal conditioning and Analog-to-Digital conversion circuit configured to convert the analog signal into a digital signal;   a low-power processor circuit configured to processes the digital signal using a pattern recognition system implementing gas detection and measurement algorithms.   
     
     
         8 . The sensor system of  claim 7 , further comprising a memory, coupled with the low-power processing circuit, the memory configured to store algorithms combining models that accurately reflect the behavior of sensing elements customized with the specific molecular formulation, and instruction that cause the processing circuitry to perform pattern recognition techniques to convert raw sensor output into gas concentration readings based on the algorithms and models. 
     
     
         9 . The sensor system of  claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing element os designed such that the hybrid nanostructures and molecular formulations can be deposited using drop casting or electro-chemical deposition. 
     
     
         10 . The sensor system of  claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing element comprises a MEMS substrate.