NSF Award
0110453
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will design, build, and test a hybrid Raman analyzer suitable for "on-demand" or continuous process monitoring. The Phase I project demonstrated feasibility by designing and testing a unique combination of components that yielded greater than 100 times improvement in sensitivity (defined as the signal-to-noise ratio) compared to traditional Raman analyzers. The novel design also demonstrated high resolution (1 cm -1), invariant wavelength stability, and freedom from fluorescence interference; which are critical requirements for autonomous chemical process monitoring or rapid raw-material identification. The Phase II project will further improve sensitivity, as well as demonstrate long-term temperature and vibrational immunity, and fast "turn-on" time. Complete internal analyzer diagnostics will allow greater than 1000 hours of unattended operation. As such, the analyzer will be rugged, compact and portable (10"x 12" footprint), low-maintenance, require minimum power, and suitable for numerous industrial applications. <br/><br/>The commercial applications will be directed toward the chemical manufacturing industries. The Phase II prototype will be used to develop specific applications with customers during Phase III.
