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Miniaturised 3D monolithic optical system for particles’ sensor on-a-chip

We present a miniaturized opto-electronic particulate matter sensor on-a-chip for air quality monitoring. The compactness of the device aims to enable a wide and cost-effective deployment while maintaining and possibly increase the amount and quality of collected data. The focus is the detection of PM_2.5 and PM₁, which are very harmful to the human respiratory system. Compared to other technologies, the sensitivity of this device is improved by the integration of a millimeter-sized, refractive/reflective optical system that performs an optical pre-processing of the particles’ scattering signatures with a hybrid fluidic-optronic CMOS holed retina that records the specific irradiance pattern scattered by the particles.

The optical system comprises front spherical elements, internal freeform reflectors, and flat back dioptres. These are designed into a compact, monolithic element that must provide both optical performance and stable mutual alignment. This optical component is fabricated using a 3D subtractive manufacturing process (FEMTOPRINT®) based upon three main steps: laser exposure of a fused silica substrate, chemical etching and surface polishing. Machined surfaces that show a typical initial roughness S_a > 100 nm undergo a polishing process to reduce the roughness of the optical surfaces while minimizing the deformation.

The optical element is coupled vertically with the CMOS chip, so that the light collected by the optical subsystems is redirected onto the regions of interest on the CMOS holed retina. A scattering signature from a single particle is then derived from the image. The sensor’s performance and reliability are tested by comparing theoretical and experimental measurements.

Speaker

Dr. Andrea Lovera
Andrea received a BS in Physics Engineering in 2007 and a MS in Micro- and Nanotechnologies for Integrated Systems in 2009. From 2010 to 2014 he worked on a PhD in the Photonics domain at the Nano-photonics and Metrology Laboratory of the EPFL, where he gained experience in laser-matter interaction and nanofabrication and was also involved in the European Project SPEDOC for surface plasmon early detection of heat shock proteins. In 2014, Andrea joined the newly incorporated startup FEMTOprint SA as Field Engineer and worked on the development of the microfabrication platform and process. Thanks to the significant contribution to mature the technology, he helped the company in adapting the business model and further expanding. From 2016 is leading the R&D department of FEMTOprint SA and supervising production and machine development groups. He is currently the project coordinator of two European projects and deeply involved in the definition of the strategic evolution of the company.

Moderator

Dr. Christian Bosshard, Managing director Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard received his degree in Physics (1986) and his doctorate (1991, Silver medal award) from ETH. From 2001-2021 he was working at CSEM, first as Section Head and then as Vice President and Head Photonics. Since 2013 he is Managing Director of Swissphotonics. Christian is a Fellow of Optica, Board Member of EPIC, and Member of the Board of the University of Basel.

Date
Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Time
12:00 - 12:45

Software
Zoom

Costs
free of charge

Registration only necessary once
This event series requires registration (see link above). We will send you the access information (Zoom-link and ID) by email after the registration. As the Zoom link remains the same every week, you do not need to register again for the following meetings.

Deadline for registration
16 May 2022, 12.00 am

Contact
Dr. Andrea Lovera
FEMTOprint SA, 6933 Muzzano TI

Contact Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard
Managing Director Swissphotonics
+41 79 405 18 26

20 March 2022, Beni Muller + Iris Bollinger