June 8, 2017 – Thorlabs announced the establishment of PolySense, a joint industry‚Äêuniversity research lab in the physics department at the Technical University in Bari, Italy, to focus on the research and development of innovative optical gas sensing systems. The move augments Thorlabs’ current research collaborations with Vincenzo Spagnolo, an expert in optical gas sensing and associate professor at the Technical University in Bari. Professor Spagnolo will serve as the Director of PolySense.
The detection and measurement of trace gas concentrations is of importance in a variety of applications, including environmental monitoring of greenhouse gases, disease diagnosis, industrial process control analysis, and detection of toxic and flammable gases. The Spagnolo group has experience with the quartz‚Äêenhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) technique, which uses a quartz tuning fork (QTF) as a detector for photo‚Äêacoustic signals. Using QEPAS, small concentrations of potentially harmful gases (a few tens of parts per trillion) can be measured.
Starting from the QEPAS technique and employing Thorlabs’ engineering resources and manufacturing expertise, the PolySense lab will endeavor to design and produce QTF designs, optimized for different operation conditions. These QTFs will be incorporated into jointly‚Äêdesigned acoustic detection modules to produce sensor prototypes for sensitive real‚Äêtime measurements. The end goal is to provide portable solutions for in situ and real‚Äêtime gas detection, leading to advancements in breath analysis, environmental monitoring, leaks detection, hydrocarbon gas sensing, and monitoring of toxic gases and explosive precursors.
To support the strategic partnership, Thorlabs will provide the necessary instrumentation as well as technical staff and funding for both the research and personnel, while the university will provide the laboratory and office space as well as conduct the research.