PhovIR

It has developed and patented a miniature FTIR spectroscopy sensor that enables materials identification to be applied in mainstream consumer and industrial applications, without the need for laboratory grade equipment or skills. Our novel sensor provides the performance of a benchtop system in a device that is small enough to fit into a smartphone or other mobile device and can be manufactured very cost-effectively. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy is the most common form of infrared spectroscopy. All infrared spectroscopies act on the principle that when infrared (IR) radiation passes through a sample, some of the radiation is absorbed; the radiation that passes through or is reflected off the sample is recorded as a spectrum. Because different molecules with their different structures produce different spectra, the spectra can be used to identify and distinguish among molecules by their unique ‘fingerprint’. Consumers and industrial users need more information about the materials they are buying, or consuming. They want confirmation that the substances they encounter are what the label says they are, and they want to know how to safely handle and dispose of them. FTIR is commonly used in organic synthesis, polymer science, petrochemical engineering, the pharmaceutical industry and food analysis. It has a wide array of applications, from monitoring processes to identifying compounds.

One of the most established techniques for the identification of materials is Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), determining the optical “fingerprint” of materials in the near-infrared wavelength range. Opposed to grating- and Fabry-Perot-based spectrometers, FTIR employs the Michelson-interferometer (MI) architecture, which is considered the gold-standard due to its broad spectral range, high spectral resolution, and Signal-to-noise ratio. However, so-far it is impossible to integrate the MI-architecture into a low-cost, mass-manufacturable, and portable device. PhovIR has developed a proprietary Micro-opto-electro-mechanical-systems (MOEMS) sensor based on a re-designed MI, combined with optical engineering, signal acquisition, data analysis and spectral reconstruction. Currently at TRL4, we have experimentally demonstrated the identification of various substances such as plastics, liquids and more quantitatively the determination of the fat content of milk. PhovIR’s sensor core measures < 1 cm2 and has been validated by external MEMS foundries to be fully compatible with high-volume fabrication processes. This leverages scale and economies of Si foundries, offering molecular spectrometry capabilities to wider B2B & B2C applications previously price-prohibited, as well as serving as a platform technology to open-up spectroscopy for so-far unexplored applications. Akin to the first MEMS-based acceleration sensor which was developed for crash detection in automotive applications but, unthinkable at the time of development, has found its way into e.g. mobile phones for screen rotation and step counting. International Patent application PCT/GB2021/051650 is currently being prosecuted in US, EU, China, Japan, and Korea, covering the working mechanism of PhovIR’s MOEMS FTIR spectrometer sensor, and thus PhovIR’s core technology.