development would have to be capable of detecting the presence of chemical compounds found in explosives as well as certain deadly airborne chemicals, regardless of whether the cause is a hazardous chemical spill or terrorist attack.
The R&D teams selected for funding were culled from roughly 100 proposals that were submitted more than a year ago in response to a DHS “request for proposals” in what Dennis called a highly competitive process. All of the groups selected are based in California, and Dennis said the fact that two of the selected groups are based in San Diego was “a matter of chance, but it’s turning out to be convenient. They also talk to each other, which helps.”
The groups participating in the program, and the technologies they are developing, are:
—Engineers from Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ [[ticker:QCOM]]) government technologies unit demonstrated a cell phone that incorporates a microchip developed by privately held Seacoast Science of Carlsbad, CA, that is equipped with 10 “chemical capacitors.” The company’s technology uses microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in which a series of chemically-sensitive polymers are used to coat a sensor platform, which acts like a sponge to absorb chemicals from the atmosphere. When a polymer absorbs a chemical, it changes that polymer’s ability to conduct electricity, which can be precisely measured and compared to a known class of chemicals.
—Rhevision Technology, a three-year-old San Diego-based startup, is developing advanced optical technology that Rhevision founder Yu-Hwa Lo invented in his optics laboratory at UC San Diego. Their concept is to combine Rhevision’s optics with a “porous silicon artificial nose” developed in the laboratory of UC San Diego Professor Michael Sailor. The millimeter-sized sensors are based on “nanophase semiconductors” developed by Sailor’s group, which are composed of nanoparticles that change color in the presence of certain molecules. Rhevision demonstrated how it has integrated its bio-inspired liquid lens technology with a cell phone camera systems to basically turn a cell phone camera into an extremely high-resolution wireless microscope. Rhevision uses its system to precisely inspect and measure color changes in the chemical sensor and compare the results with known toxic compounds.
—[Updates to clarify size of device] A team of scientists from the Center for Nanotechnology at NASA Ames Research Center outside Mountain View, CA, demonstrated a “three-in-one” nanosensor system that includes a sampling jet, sensor chip, and electronics for data acquisition on a 20-millimeter by 20-millimeter device. Multiple nanotube sensors on the chip measure changes in the electrical conductivity across the nanotube openings, and are sensitive enough to tell the difference between chlorine, ammonia, and methane. Principal investigator Jing Li says two nanosensors based on the same technology and developed by her team were part of an instrument package delivered to the International Space Station last year. The sensors are used to monitor air quality aboard the space station.
Dennis said the demonstration was intended to serve as a “proof of concept” before moving to the next step of technology development. “There were some very expensive paths we were looking to avoid—some very expensive miniaturization of components—and we wanted to first prove the function.” Following what Dennis described as “a fairly solid demonstration of the concept,” he said, “What we’re looking for now is field data. We want to see if these detection results in the laboratory can be duplicated in the field.”
