Patent ID: 8269974

Claim:
A chemical vapor sensor array comprising: a plurality of interferometric sensors on a single chip, each sensor specific to a preselected chemical signature, each sensor comprising: a laser source; a first optical path having a functionalized sense arm open to an ambient environment and reactive to the preselected chemical signature; a second optical path having a reference arm sealed from the ambient environment; a beam splitter sending light emitted from the laser to both the first and second optical paths whereby the chemical signature reacting at the functional sense arm changes the first optical path length relative to the second optical path length; a beam recombiner creating a superposition of sense and reference beams yielding interference fringes responsive to the change in the first optical path length; and a photodetector for converting the interference fringes into a detectable electrical signal, whereby the identity of the chemical vapor is logically derived by one or more electrical signals from the sensors; and a logic gate integral to the chip, the logic gate activating a signal responsive to an identification of the chemical vapor.