B5.3 - First- and second-order individual gas sensors as the next generation reliable analytical instruments
- Event
- ETTC 2026 - European Test and Telemetry Conference
2026-06-09 - 2026-06-11
Nuremberg - Chapter
- Sensor II
- Author(s)
- R. A. Potyrailo, S. Shan, B. Cheng, T. Wang, G. Sculthorpe, J. Crowder - GE Vernova Advanced Research Center, Niskayuna (USA)
- Pages
- 247 - 255
- DOI
- 10.5162/ettc2026/B5.3
- Price
- free
Abstract
Conventional gas sensors frequently underperform in field conditions due to their designs as singleoutput, “zero order” devices that cannot differentiate between target analytes, chemical interferents, and sensor drift. To overcome these limitations, we are developing more trusted gas sensors with independent responses to function as first- and second-order devices. Inspired by proven traditional analytical instruments, we show how their underlying mathematical principles are translated into nextgeneration sensor designs to improve the “3S” attributes of Sensitivity, Selectivity, and Stability. We show the importance of hardware – analytics co-design where machine learning only fully succeeds when sensor outputs contain sufficient independent information. We show our two first-order sensing platforms such as (i) radio-frequency sensors utilizing multi-frequency dielectric excitation of metal oxides and (ii) photonic sensors employing multi-wavelength illumination of nanostructured materials. Our second-order sensors incorporate different modulation techniques into these first-order platforms. These next-generation gas sensors are the revolution from "low-cost commodity" to "high-value differentiated layer" sensors to enable their trusted, widespread environmental and industrial monitoring. Key words: sensitivity, selectivity, stability, first-order sensor, second-order sensor 1. Introduction For decades, pellistors, electrochemical, and semiconducting metal oxide (SMOX) sensors have supported industrial and residential safety by detecting high levels of toxic and combustible gases.