Current state-of-the-art hand-held chemical agent detectors are photoionization detectors (PID) where a high energy light source ionizes the airborne agents, and the resulting ions are used to produce a pronounced and sometimes a unique signature. However, PIDs require large platforms, high power, and are limited to detecting just a few chemical agents, one agent at a time.

The plasmonic-photonic sensor uses functionalized gold nanoparticles to enhance the reflected light from a photonic crystal. The reflected spectrum is shifted from the baseline once an agent attaches itself to the gold nanoparticles. We found that this shift is linearly related to the effective index of refraction of the agent, and thus, gives us the ability to interpolate and extrapolate spectrum shifts from many agents without exhaustive testing for the reflected signature of these agents. The technology can be scaled into an array capable of detecting various airborne agents at the same time and may also be used to detect the presence of airborne agents in vapor (such as human breath).

Inventors, Dr. Jimmy Touma and Dr. Kathleen Dipple, developed the prototype using commercial off-the-shelf components and test data confirm the efficacy of the device in detecting airborne agents.

Disclosure has been filed and patent to be issued shortly, available for licensing and/or further R&D in collaboration with AFRL/RW inventors. Licensing terms are negotiable.