Halogen detection with solid state sensor

• US 4,893,108 A
• Filed: 06/24/1988
• Issued: 01/09/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Original Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Inventors: Kolesar, Edward S. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Reynolds, Bruce A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Application Number:
  US07/211,006
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• Field of Search: 338/34, 338/35, 422/88, 422/89, 422/90, 422/91, 422/92, 73/23, 73/23.1, 73/29, 204/411, 204/412, 204/195 R, 204/1 T
• US Class Current: 338/34
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/12 of a solid body in dependence upon absorption of a fluid; of a solid body in dependence upon reaction with a fluid , for detecting components in the fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0031 comprising two or more sensors, e.g. a sensor array electrochemical electrode arrays G01N27/27
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0052 for gaseous halogens

Abstract

A solid state thin film detection and measurement apparatus for halogen gas components such as chlorine in a gas mixture is described. The detection cell employs plural response modes to the halogen gas including response to the thermal effect of a halogen and thin film reaction and response to the thermal and ion diffusion effects of the halogen reaction with a halide supporting substrate member. These plural responses are manifested by an electrical resistance change in the thin film element and this change is sensed with a four-lead measurement arrangement. The use of plural measurement cells each of a different composition and computerized multiplexing of thin film resistance signals is included as are identification of possible thin film and substrate compositions.

Claims

1. Apparatus for detecting the presence of gaseous first halogen components in an unknown mixture of gases comprising the combination of:

a detection substrate member comprised of a second halogen chemical compound of a first metal;

a thin film electrical resistance detector element received on said substrate member and comprised of a second metal in thin film metallic form;

means for moving a stream of said unknown gas mixture over said detection substrate and detector elements; and

means responsive to the combined detector element unknown gas exposure and the substrate member unknown gas exposure resistance changes in said detector element for indicating the presence of said first halogen components in said unknown mixture of gases.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for indicating the presence of the first halogen components includes a four-point electrical resistance measurement apparatus connected with said thin film electrical resistance detector element.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first halogen components include chlorine.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second halogen compound of a first metal and said second metal are each materials having a negative Gibbs free energy change chemical reaction with said first halogen components.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said thin film second metal and said subtrate member halogen chemical compound are comprised of materials taken from the pair groups consisting of silver with potassium bromide, silver with potassium iodide, bismuth with cesium iodide, bismuth with potassium iodide, copper with cesium bromide, copper with potassium iodide, copper with lithium iodide, copper with sodium bromide, copper with sodium iodide, lead with cesium iodide, lead with potassium iodide, thallium with potassium bromide and silver with cesium bromide.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including additional of said detection substrate member and thin film electrical resistance detector element combinations disposed in said gas stream with each of said combinations comprising a different one of said pair groups.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further including electrical resistance sensing means for determining the halogen gas responsive resistance change in each of said detector element combinations and for comparing the responses of plural of said detector element combinations.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said thin film electrical resistance detector element has a thickness in the range of four hundred to eight hundred angstroms.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said thin film electrical resistance element is received on said substrate member during one of the processing arrangements of vacuum thermal evaporation, electron beam evaporation, and direct current sputtering.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for moving a stream of said unknown gas mixture includes temperature and gas flow rate control means for maintaining controlled measurement conditions.

11. The method of sensing first halogen element components in a gaseous mixture comprising the steps of:

conducting a stream of said gaseous mixture over an exposed surface of a thin film first metal detector element;

conveying a stream of said gaseous mixture over an exposed surface of the detector element supporting substrate member, said substrate member being comprised of a second metal chemically compounded with a second halogen element and being intimately mated physically with said thin film element;

measuring the electrical resistance change produced in said detector element by the combined reaction of said first halogen element components with said detector element metal and with said substrate member compound; and

correlating said electrical resistance change with a predetermined resistance to halogen element concentration relationship.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said conducting and conveying steps comprise disposing a substrate supported detector element in a single gaseous mixture stream.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said detector element metal and said substrate member halogen compound are taken from the pair groups consisting of silver with potassium bromide, silver with potassium iodide, bismuth with cesium iodide, bismuth with potassium iodide, copper with cesium bromide, copper with potassium iodide, copper with lithium iodide, copper with sodium bromide, copper with sodium iodide, lead with cesium iodide, lead with potassium iodide, thallium with potassium bromide and silver with cesium bromide.

14. The method of claim 13 further including disposing a plurality of substrate supported detector elements each consisting of a different one of said pair groups in said gaseous mixture stream.

15. A method for measuring first halogen element concentrations in a gaseous effluent mixture comprising the steps of:

reacting said gaseous mixture with a thermally responding metallic thin film electrical resistance element;

sorbing first halogen components of said gaseous mixture with a thermally responding solid state metal plus second halogen element thermal compound sensor element;

communicating heat energy from said sensor element sorbing steps to said thin film electrical resistance element; and

correlating said resistance change with a predetermined resistance change to first halogen element concentration relationship.

16. The method of claim 15 further including the step of cross-diffusing first halogen element reaction ions from said sensor element into said thin film electrical resistance element and from said thin film electrical resistance element into said sensor element;

whereby an additional first halogen element chemical reaction generated component of thin film electrical resistance change is added to the measured electrical resistance change.

17. The method of claim 15 further including repeatiang said reacting, sorbing, communicating, measuring and correlating steps for each of additional of said thin film electrical resistance and said second halogen element chemical compound sensor elements.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein said metallic thin film electrical resistance element and said second halogen element chemical compound sensor element are comprised of metals and second halogen chemical compound materials taken from the pair groups consisting of silver with cesium bromide, silver with potassium bromide, silver with potassium iodide, bismuth with cesium iodide, bismuth with potassium iodide, copper with cesium bromide, copper with potassium iodide, copper with lithium iodide, copper with sodium bromide, copper with sodium iodide, lead with cesium iodide, lead with potassium iodide, thallium with potassium bromide and silver with cesium bromide.