This volume presents information on the unique topic of chemical sensors. It focuses on the materials, manufacturing, theory and application of sensors. It is a resource that researchers, students, and those involved in the the design and manufacturing of ceramics will find of critical importance. Proceedings of the symposium held at the 103rd Annual Meeting of The American Ceramic Society, April 22-25, 2001, in Indiana; Ceramic Transactions, Volume 130.
At the beginning of this book, and in the absence of guidance from IUPAC, it is appropriate to clarify the term 'chemical sensor'. A chemical sensor may be defined as a simple-to-use, robust device that is capable of reliable quantitative or qualitative recognition of atomic, molecular or ionic species. It is hard to imagine a field of applied chemistry in which a significant impact could not be made by such a device. Undoubtedly, it is this potential that has fuelled the contemporary preoccupation with chemical sensors. An unfortunate side-effect of this otherwise welcome interest is the use of the term 'chemical sensor' to add the chemical equivalent of a 'High-Tech gloss' to a rather ordinary device, publication, conference or research group. This loose usage of terminology is responsible in part for the ambiguity that surrounds many chemists' concepts of the form and function of chemical sensors. Further ambiguity arises from the extravagant claims that have been made for some sensors, and the impression that has been given of much 'verging-on-a-breakthrough' research. The research chemist engaged in sensor development should be mindful of the fact that the ultimate target for these devices is the real world, and that a successful laboratory device operating under well-defined conditions and careful calibration does not constitute a chemical sensor. Research into chemical sensors is not a recent phenomenon; it has been under way for over 80 years.
Oceanographic chemical sensing is a new and expanding field which has seen rapid recent development, and the increasing demand to make these types of measurements will ensure continuing technological advances. Chemical Sensors in Oceanography details the state-of-the-art of oceanographic chemical sensor research. It identifies the novel areas where chemical sensors are being used and developed, and indicates their usefulness to marine science. Leading researchers in the field introduce some of the most important techniques under development today, including their detecting principles, the monitored parameters, their theory, technology, and application to the marine environment. Chemical Sensors in Oceanography then goes on to consider the nature of future sensor development. This book will be an invaluable reference source for oceanographers, marine scientists and analytical chemists, particularly those involved in the development of chemical sensors. It is also recommended as a supplementary text for students studying chemical sensors.
Chemical sensors contain two basic functions: recognition and transduction, and provide real-time information about substances rather than physical quantities. Such devices are extensively utilized for various applications in diverse fields. The book focuses on the physical, chemical, optical, and electrical working mechanisms of different types of sensors integrated with various smart nanomaterials and composites. The mesmerizing properties of numerous materials and their fruitful applications for detecting numerous chemical parameters are discussed here. The book provides recent progress in the chemical sensors field and connects materials, physics, chemistry, and engineering, and therefore, is suitable for engineers, industrial, and academic researchers.
Manufacturing process controls include all systems and software that exert control over production processes. Control systems include process sensors, data processing equipment, actuators, networks to connect equipment, and algorithms to relate process variables to product attributes. Since 1995, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Industrial Technology 's (OIT) program management strategy has reflected its commitment to increasing and documenting the commercial impact of OIT programs. OIT's management strategy for research and development has been in transition from a technology push strategy to a market pull strategy based on the needs of seven energy-and waste-intensive industries-steel, forest products, glass, metal casting, aluminum, chemicals, and petroleum refining. These industries, designated as Industries of the Future (IOF), are the focus of OIT programs. In 1997, agriculture, specifically renewable bioproducts, was added to the IOF group.The National Research Council Panel on Manufacturing Process Controls is part of the Committee on Industrial Technology Assessments (CITA), which was established to evaluate the OIT program strategy, to provide guidance during the transition to the new IOF strategy, and to assess the effects of the change in program strategy on cross-cutting technology programs, that is, technologies applicable to several of the IOF industries. The panel was established to identify key processes and needs for improved manufacturing control technology, especially the needs common to several IOF industries; identify specific research opportunities for addressing these common industry needs; suggest criteria for identifying and prioritizing research and development (R&D) to improve manufacturing controls technologies; and recommend means for implementing advances in control technologies.
Solid State Chemical Sensors reviews the basic chemical and physical principles involved in the construction and operation of solid state sensors. A major portion of the book is devoted to explanation of the basic mechanism of operation and the many actual and potential applications of field effect transistors for gas and solution sensing. This text is comprised of four chapters; the first of which describes the basics of device fabrication. Emphasis is placed on the physical description of semiconductor devices with catalytic metal gates, along with their drawbacks and their promise. The behavior of hydrogen in the Pd-SiO2 system is also considered, and some applications of hydrogen-sensitive transistors, such as smoke detection and biochemical reaction monitoring, are described. The second chapter focuses on chemically sensitive field effect transistors and their thermodynamics, while the third chapter explains the general fabrication procedure for solid state chemical sensors. The final chapter introduces the reader to piezoelectric and pyroelectric chemical sensors, paying particular attention to the sensor nature of piezoelectricity, the piezoelectric gravimetric sensor, and pyroelectric gas analysis. This book is intended to assist electrical engineers in understanding the chemistry involved in the construction and operation of solid state sensors and to educate chemists in solid state science.
Proceedings of the 22nd Course of the International School of Quantum Electronics, held 27 November-2 December 1997, in Erice, Italy. In recent years, fiber optical sensors and optical microsystems have assumed a significant role in sensing and measurement of many kinds. These optical techniques are utilised in a wide range of fields, including biomedicine, environmental sensing, mechanical and industrial measurement, and art preservation. This volume, an up-to-date survey of optical sensors and optical microsystems, aims at combining a tutorial foundation with analysis of current research in this area, and an extensive coverage of both technology and applications.
Water can be considered as one of the basic elements supporting life and the natural environment, a primary component for industry, a consumer item for humans and animals and a vector for domestic and industrial pollution. Various European Directives already provide a framework for the control of aquatic substances, the quality of bathing, surface and drinking water and effluent control. Such regulatory measures are closely related to analytical measurements. In order to comply with these regulations on a permanent basis, treatment plants and distribution companies, as well as water users and polluters, need to implement automated measuring techniques, such as sensors and other analytical tools in continuous or sequential mode to obtain suitable alarm systems and facilitate the management of water resources and decision making processes. This approach is in continuous evolution within the European Union. In view of the consequences of wrong measurements, it is vital that reliable quality control systems be achieved and maintained. At present, only a small range of analytical parameters can be measured automatically, it is therefore necessary to develop and validate new methods to extend the list of parameters. The development of new methodologies requires that the most recent know-how in fields such as optics, electrochemistry, biochemistry, chemometrics and others be shared by experts. In order to identify possible actions to be undertaken in the field of standards, measurements and testing for monitoring water quality, the Standards Measurements and Testing (SMT) Programme of the European Union, organised a European workshop that was held in Nancy 29-31 May 1997. This workshop bought together researchers and industrial users with the aim to make an overview of the present state-of-the-art, to consider possible improvements in existing techniques and the need and possibilities of developing new advanced technologies.