McGowan Sensor Labs Limited

Technology

Compared to alternative gas sensing technologies, MOx sensors offer low-cost, long lifetimes, miniaturization and can operate in hostile environments.

The sensor is basically a multi-layered chip, orchestrated by the sense layer 'brain', changing conductivity in sympathy with localised environmental changes.

Schematic of multi-layered sensor chip

Visual representation of sensor chip in a circuit

Some of the known downsides such as drift, cross-sensitivity, and the need to heat the sensors, limit overall uptake to undemanding opportunities.

By and large, habits of MOx companies operate along the following lines:

• use of easily fabricated sensing materials (e.g. SnO₂) but behaviour-wise fickle
• high reliance on opaque correction algorithms, delivering a 'synthetic' signal
• offer total VOC sensors which are used as proxy or poor man's CO₂ sensors

They could do better but the end applications are unregulated, highly cost-sensitive but quite undemanding in performance. Saying you have a VOC sensor onboard seems to carry the day!

Building on our back catalogue of materials know-how, we are pioneering innovative approaches, particularly:

• Challenging the current approach of suspect-materials-plus-opaque-algorithms
• Introducing totally new & reliable gas-sensing materials
• Smartening the crude VOC sensors via self-diagnostics & discriminating ability
• Providing real not proxy measurements
• Offering gas speciation to challenge FAIMS, GC-MS & other separation methods

Examples of our disruptive* approach include:

* Overused term, but used here as a business concept in line with characteristics described by recognised business academics C. M. Christensen & J. Gans