IP Library Granted Patent US 10,578,547
Granted Patent B2
US 10,578,547 · App. 15/914,455 · Granted Mar 3, 2020

On-chip spectroscopic sensors with optical fringe suppression

Inventors: William Green (Yorktown Heights, NY); Chu Cheyenne Teng (Princeton, NJ); Gerard Wysocki (Princeton, NJ); Eric Zhang (Yorktown Heights, NY)
Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
G01N21/27G01J3/45G01N33/0047G01N2201/06113G01N2201/1211
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,578,547
App. No.
15/914,455
Granted
Mar 3, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

An on-chip spectroscopic sensor includes a tunable diode laser. A laser driver for drives the tunable diode laser. An analyte test cavity receives a chemical sample and exposes the received chemical sample to light from the tunable diode laser. An optical detector detects light emerging from the analyte test cavity as a result of the laser exposure. A spectral analyzer determines a spectrum of the emerging light, matches and removes one or more known optical fringe patterns from the determined spectrum, and determines a composition or concentration of the chemical sample from the optical fringe pattern-removed spectrum.

Claims (21)

1. A method for detecting fugitive methane gas, comprising:

installing a spectroscopic sensor apparatus into a calibration tool;

using the spectroscopic sensor apparatus within the calibration tool to identify a plurality of optical fringe patterns at regular temperature increments within a predetermined temperature range;

store the plurality of optical fringe patterns within a database;

configure the spectroscopic sensor apparatus by constructing a background removal model that is configured to detect one or more of the plurality of optical fringe patterns while correcting for laser frequency ramping instabilities by allowing each of the plurality of optical fringe patterns to be stretched/contracted;

removing the configured spectroscopic sensor apparatus from the calibration tool;

installing the configured spectroscopic sensor apparatus to a final location; and

using the spectroscopic sensor apparatus installed at the final location to detect fugitive methane,

wherein using the spectroscopic sensor apparatus to detect fugitive methane includes:

acquiring a subsequent spectrum using the spectroscopic sensor apparatus;

removing background from the acquired subsequent spectrum using the constructed background removal model; and

identifying the presence of fugitive methane by analyzing the background-removed spectrum, and

wherein the background removal model is constructed using the formula:

I t ( v ( t ))= I 0 ( v ( t ))× e −σ(v(t))NL ×fringe background

where v(t) represents laser frequency as a function of time, I t presents transmitted laser intensity or equivalently the measured spectrum, I 0 represents incident laser intensity, σ represents cross section of light absorption by a single particle, L represents optical pathlength of the sensor, and N represents analyte concentration.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined temperature range is from 20° C. to 30° C. and the regular temperature intervals are 1×10 −40 C.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical fringe patterns are stored within the database in correspondence with a temperature of acquisition and in the background removal model is further used to determine a current temperature by determining a temperature that corresponds to a matched optical fringe pattern of the plurality of optical fringe patterns.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein configure the spectroscopic sensor apparatus further includes copying the database to the spectroscopic sensor apparatus.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the background removal model allows for least-mean-squares (LMS) fitting.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of optical fringe patterns is allowed to be stretched/contracted by adjusting the laser frequency axis v(t).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the final location is a methane conduit or facility handling methane.

Assignments (2)
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Sep 24, 2018
From: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
To: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Reel/Frame 047630/0655 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 7, 2018
From: GREEN, WILLIAM; TENG, CHU CHEYENNE; WYSOCKI, GERARD; ZHANG, ERIC
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION; THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Reel/Frame 045134/0119 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62506376 · May 15, 2017
Related Publication 20180328840A1 · Nov 15, 2018
Cited By (1)
US 12,697,029