Optimized design of substrate-integrated hollow waveguides for mid-infrared gas analyzers

Design and analytical performance studies are presented for optimizing a new generation of hollow waveguides suitable for quantitative gas sensing—the so-called substrate-integrated hollow waveguide (iHWG). Taking advantage of a particularly compact Fourier transform infrared spectrometer optimized iHWG geometries are investigated toward the development of a multi-constituent breath analysis tool compatible for usage, e.g., in exhaled mouse breath analysis. Three different iHWG geometries were compared, i.e., straight, meandering one-turn and meandering two-turn waveguide channels aiming at maximizing the related analytical figures-of-merit including the achievable limits of detection for selected exemplary analytes. In addition, efficient coupling of infrared (IR) radiation into straight iHWGs was investigated using integrated optical funnel structures. Calibration functions of butane in nitrogen serving as IR-transparent matrix gas were established and compared for the various iHWG geometries. Given the tidal volume of exhaled breath (EB) samples ranging from a few hundreds of milliliters (human, swine) to a few hundreds of microliters (mouse), it is essential for any given analysis to select an appropriate waveguide geometry and volume yet maintaining (i) a compact footprint ensuring hand-held instrumentation, (ii) modular exchange of the iHWG according to the analysis requirement yet with constant device format, and (iii) enabling inline/online measurement capabilities toward continuous EB diagnostics.

[1]  James A. Harrington,et al.  Small-Bore Hollow Waveguide Infrared Absorption Cells for Gas Sensing , 1996 .

[2]  Karen Willcox,et al.  Kinetics and kinematics for translational motions in microgravity during parabolic flight. , 2009, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[3]  M. Phillips,et al.  Metabolic and environmental origins of volatile organic compounds in breath. , 1994, Journal of clinical pathology.

[4]  Nathan I. Croitoru,et al.  Hollow silica, metal, and plastic waveguides for hard-tissue medical applications , 1997, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[5]  Hiroshi Fukuda,et al.  High-performance silicon photonics technology for telecommunications applications , 2014, Science and technology of advanced materials.

[6]  Timothy Day,et al.  External cavity widely tunable quantum cascade laser based hollow waveguide gas sensors for multianalyte detection , 2009 .

[7]  B. Mizaikoff,et al.  Potential and Challenges for Mid-Infrared Sensors in Breath Diagnostics , 2010, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[8]  J A Harrington,et al.  Attenuation of incoherent infrared radiation in hollow sapphire and silica waveguides. , 1991, Optics letters.

[9]  Yuji Matsuura,et al.  Hollow waveguide with multiple dielectric layer for infrared cavity-ring-down spectroscopy , 2013, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[10]  Chuji Wang,et al.  Breath Analysis Using Laser Spectroscopic Techniques: Breath Biomarkers, Spectral Fingerprints, and Detection Limits , 2009, Sensors.

[11]  Volker Ribitsch,et al.  Combined sensing platform for advanced diagnostics in exhaled mouse breath , 2013, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[12]  James A. Harrington,et al.  A Review of IR Transmitting, Hollow Waveguides , 2000 .

[13]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Real-time monitoring of ozone in air using substrate-integrated hollow waveguide mid-infrared sensors , 2013, Scientific Reports.

[14]  B. Mizaikoff,et al.  Multivariate determination of 13CO2/12CO2 ratios in exhaled mouse breath with mid-infrared hollow waveguide gas sensors , 2013, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

[15]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Substrate-integrated hollow waveguides: a new level of integration in mid-infrared gas sensing. , 2013, Analytical chemistry.

[16]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Monitoring of hydrogen sulfide via substrate-integrated hollow waveguide mid-infrared sensors in real-time. , 2014, The Analyst.

[17]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Towards the determination of isoprene in human breath using substrate-integrated hollow waveguide mid-infrared sensors , 2014, Journal of breath research.

[18]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Infrared hollow waveguide sensors for simultaneous gas phase detection of benzene, toluene, and xylenes in field environments. , 2011, Analytical chemistry.

[19]  H. Krammer.  Propagation of modes in curved hollow metallic waveguides for the infrared. , 1977, Applied optics.

[20]  Boris Mizaikoff,et al.  Mid-Infrared Trace Gas Analysis with Single-Pass Fourier Transform Infrared Hollow Waveguide Gas Sensors , 2009, Applied spectroscopy.

[21]  Fabrication method of small-diameter hollow waveguides for terahertz waves , 2012 .

[22]  Yuji Matsuura,et al.  Fabrication of low-loss hollow waveguide with multiple dielectric layers for infrared cavity ring-down spectroscopy , 2013 .

[23]  M. Phillips,et al.  Variation in volatile organic compounds in the breath of normal humans. , 1999, Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications.

[24]  B. Mizaikoff,et al.  Toward the quantification of the 13CO2/12CO2 ratio in exhaled mouse breath with mid-infrared hollow waveguide gas sensors , 2011, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.