Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing

Abstract Highly sensitive gas detection plays a crucial role in advanced scientific and technological fields. This paper presents a parts-per-quadrillion (ppq) level ultra-highly sensitive light-induced thermoelectric spectroscopy (LITES) sensor for the first time. The artificial fish swarm algorith...

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Main Authors: Haiyue Sun, Shunda Qiao, Ying He, Xiaorong Sun, Yufei Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2025-04-01
Series:Light: Science & Applications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01864-4
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author Haiyue Sun
Shunda Qiao
Ying He
Xiaorong Sun
Yufei Ma
author_facet Haiyue Sun
Shunda Qiao
Ying He
Xiaorong Sun
Yufei Ma
author_sort Haiyue Sun
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Highly sensitive gas detection plays a crucial role in advanced scientific and technological fields. This paper presents a parts-per-quadrillion (ppq) level ultra-highly sensitive light-induced thermoelectric spectroscopy (LITES) sensor for the first time. The artificial fish swarm algorithm auto-designed multi-pass cell (MPC) with double helix pattern, and the polymer modified round-head quartz tuning fork (QTF) with low-resonant frequency (f 0) were adopted to improve the gas absorption and QTF’s detection ability. The obtained MPC, with a long optical path length (OPL) of 25.8 m and a small volume of 165.8 ml, is beneficial for increasing gas absorption while keeping the sensor compact. The novel QTF was structurally optimized to obtain low f 0 (~9.5 kHz) and modified by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to reduce heat diffusion and enhance vibration amplitude. A strong absorption line of carbon monoxide (CO) located in the mid-infrared region (4.59 μm) was chosen as the target line. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of CO-LITES sensor based on the novel QTF was improved by 10.59 times, reaching the highest level when compared to the commercial QTF. The corresponding minimum detection limit (MDL) was calculated to be 23 ppt. When the integration time of the sensor system was increased to 500 s, the MDL could be improved to 920.7 ppq. Compared to the reported spectroscopy techniques for CO gas detection, the LITES sensor in this study offers an excellent result in terms of detection sensitivity.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-04-01
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series Light: Science & Applications
spelling doaj-art-4dabc989e91b4f9b9bd3a2f311a2f98a2025-08-20T03:52:20ZengNature Publishing GroupLight: Science & Applications2047-75382025-04-0114111110.1038/s41377-025-01864-4Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensingHaiyue Sun0Shunda Qiao1Ying He2Xiaorong Sun3Yufei Ma4National Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information, Harbin Institute of TechnologyNational Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information, Harbin Institute of TechnologyNational Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information, Harbin Institute of TechnologyNational Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information, Harbin Institute of TechnologyNational Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information, Harbin Institute of TechnologyAbstract Highly sensitive gas detection plays a crucial role in advanced scientific and technological fields. This paper presents a parts-per-quadrillion (ppq) level ultra-highly sensitive light-induced thermoelectric spectroscopy (LITES) sensor for the first time. The artificial fish swarm algorithm auto-designed multi-pass cell (MPC) with double helix pattern, and the polymer modified round-head quartz tuning fork (QTF) with low-resonant frequency (f 0) were adopted to improve the gas absorption and QTF’s detection ability. The obtained MPC, with a long optical path length (OPL) of 25.8 m and a small volume of 165.8 ml, is beneficial for increasing gas absorption while keeping the sensor compact. The novel QTF was structurally optimized to obtain low f 0 (~9.5 kHz) and modified by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to reduce heat diffusion and enhance vibration amplitude. A strong absorption line of carbon monoxide (CO) located in the mid-infrared region (4.59 μm) was chosen as the target line. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of CO-LITES sensor based on the novel QTF was improved by 10.59 times, reaching the highest level when compared to the commercial QTF. The corresponding minimum detection limit (MDL) was calculated to be 23 ppt. When the integration time of the sensor system was increased to 500 s, the MDL could be improved to 920.7 ppq. Compared to the reported spectroscopy techniques for CO gas detection, the LITES sensor in this study offers an excellent result in terms of detection sensitivity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01864-4
spellingShingle Haiyue Sun
Shunda Qiao
Ying He
Xiaorong Sun
Yufei Ma
Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
Light: Science & Applications
title Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
title_full Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
title_fullStr Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
title_full_unstemmed Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
title_short Parts-per-quadrillion level gas molecule detection: CO-LITES sensing
title_sort parts per quadrillion level gas molecule detection co lites sensing
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01864-4
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AT shundaqiao partsperquadrillionlevelgasmoleculedetectioncolitessensing
AT yinghe partsperquadrillionlevelgasmoleculedetectioncolitessensing
AT xiaorongsun partsperquadrillionlevelgasmoleculedetectioncolitessensing
AT yufeima partsperquadrillionlevelgasmoleculedetectioncolitessensing