SAGAS: gas analyzing sensor systems based on surface acoustic wave devices-an issue of commercialization of SAW sensor technology

In this work the potential of commercialization of sensor systems based on SAW devices in contrast to other sensor principles is discussed. After given motivation for this sensor technology a first series of three different prototypes of analytical sensor systems for organic gas detection based on commercially available SAW devices is presented. Central component is an array of eight polymer coated SAW devices working at a frequency of 433.92 MHz. By an adequate selection of polymers and the use of neuronal networks for automatic pattern recognition of sensor signals a broad variety of gaseous organic analytes can be determined. Of particular interest are realistic tasks of organic gas detection for the industrial process control. Examples of a quantitative determination of the composition of ternary gas mixtures are shown as well as a qualitative discrimination of typical complex gas mixtures arising from raw food products in different states of spoilage.