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| Photonic Sensors | |
In the late 1980s, GTRI researcher Nile Hartman developed an
optical sensing apparatus and sensing method that provided
improved stability and lower cost than what was then available.
In 1990, that invention was patented, but Hartman had already
taken his research to the next level. He was developing an
integrated optic interferometric sensor that would quickly detect
even smaller amounts of various contaminants in air, soil,
groundwater and food. In 1997, the work reached a major milestone
when it was patented by Hartman and the Georgia Tech Research
Corporation.
Subsequently, the sensor was licensed commercially by the
Atlanta-based company Photonic Sensor. The company is a recent
graduate of Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development
Center, a business incubator for high-tech firms.
Hartman's sensor was developed from laser-based technology
originally conceived for optical communication applications. That
technology allows a multichannel microsensor fitted with the
proper chemical coatings to simultaneously detect multiple
contaminants. It works like this: The speed of light increases
or decreases when passing through materials of differing optical
properties. Detection of contaminants becomes possible by
measuring a contaminant's influence on the optical properties of
the sensor. Then researchers observe the effects on these
properties through changes in the transmitted laser light.
The sensors have been integrated into an environmental
monitoring system called E-SMART, which can detect and analyze
various chemical contaminants, including heavy metals, solvents,
and petroleum oil and lubricants. E-SMART operates in real time
and measures very small amounts of contaminants. In addition,
researchers say it will reduce health and safety risks and help
ensure environmental compliance.
An ongoing series of E-SMART field tests at U.S. Department of
Defense facilities will precede the product's availability on the
national and international commercial markets. When it does
become available, the E-SMART system and also the sensor as a
stand-alone environmental monitor will have numerous applications
in the private sector, from manufacturing operations to water
treatment facilities.
An additional application of the photonic sensor technology is
a rapid-response biosensor for detecting microbial contamination
in food, particularly poultry. The biosensor incorporates
integrated optics, immunoassay techniques and surface chemistry
skills. Hartman developed it in collaboration with Dr. Paul
Edmonds, an associate professor of biology at Georgia Tech, and
Dr. Dan Campbell, a research scientist in GTRI. A field test in a
north Georgia poultry plant is expected to begin later this fall.
Photo by Gary Meek
An integrated optic interferometric sensor, developed by GTRI
scientist Nile Hartman, quickly detects even the smallest amounts
of various contaminants in air, soil, groundwater and food.
For more information, contact Nile Hartman, Electro-Optics, Environment and
Materials Laboratory,
Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Tech, Atlanta,
GA 30332-0825. (Telephone: 404/894-3503) (E-mail:
nile.hartman@gtri.gatech.edu)
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