Lanthanide and silicon-based nanoparticle pressure sensor and system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10072991-B2
Application number	US-201615073406-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2016
Priority date	Mar 17, 2016
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

A nanoparticle sensor apparatus includes a silicon-based nanoparticle having a centrosymmetric crystalline structure. A lanthanide atom embedded within the silicon-based nanoparticle provides light emission when the sensor apparatus undergoes pressure loading. This sensor apparatus may be encapsulated in a polymer matrix to form a nanoparticle sensor matrix apparatus which may be located on or in a structure. To measure the pressure on such a structure, a UV light source illuminates the sensor apparatus. An optical emission detector detects the intensity of light emitted from the sensor in response, while a processor correlates that intensity to the pressure loading.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A nanoparticle pressure sensor apparatus, comprised of: a silicon-based nanoparticle comprising a centrosymmetric crystalline structure and a plurality of bonding sites; and a lanthanide atom embedded within said silicon-based nanoparticle, wherein said nanoparticle pressure sensor apparatus displays an emission intensity that is proportional to a pressure loading of said sensor under UV illumination.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said silicon-based nanoparticle comprises approximately 29 silicon atoms.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said silicon-based nanoparticle has a spherical diameter between approximately 1 nm and approximately 10 nm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said lanthanide atom is an Erbium atom.

5. A nanoparticle pressure sensor matrix apparatus, comprised of: at least one nanoparticle sensor, wherein said at least one nanoparticle sensor comprises: a silicon-based nanoparticle having a centrosymmetric crystalline structure; and a lanthanide atom embedded in said silicon-based nanoparticle; and at least one polymer matrix encapsulating said at least one nanoparticle sensor, wherein said nanoparticle pressure sensor matrix apparatus displays an emission intensity that is proportional to a pressure loading of said sensor under UV illumination.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said at least one nanoparticle sensor comprises a plurality of nanoparticle sensors.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are randomly distributed though said at least one polymer matrix.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are arranged in a two-dimensional array.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are arranged in a three-dimensional array.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are uniformly distributed throughout said at least one polymer matrix.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are uniformly distributed within at least one section of said at least one polymer matrix.

12. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are distributed in a pattern in said at least one polymer matrix.

13. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are distributed in a gradient in said at least one polymer matrix.

14. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of nanoparticle sensors are spaced approximately 3 nm to approximately 10 m apart.

15. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said at least one polymer matrix forms a three-dimensional shape.

16. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said at least one polymer matrix forms a coating attached to a surface of an object.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said coating is approximately 1 nm to approximately 4 μm thick.

18. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said at least one polymer matrix comprises a polymer having a light transmittance of between approximately 80% to approximately 93%.

19. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said at least one polymer matrix comprises a polymer having a Young's modulus of between approximately 1 GN/m 2 to approximately 4 GN/m 2 .

20. A nanoparticle-based pressure sensor system, comprised of: at least one nanoparticle pressure sensor matrix apparatus, comprised of: at least one nanoparticle pressure sensor, wherein said at least one nanoparticle pressure sensor comprises: a silicon-based nanoparticle having a centrosymmetric crystalline structure, and a lanthanide atom embedded in said silicon-based nanoparticle, and at least one polymer matrix encapsulating said at least one nanoparticle pressure sensor; a UV light source producing UV light having a wavelength between 10 nm and 400 nm; a UV detector in line with said UV light source; a lens collimator in line with said UV light source; an optical emission detector, and a data processor operatively connected to said optical emission detector, wherein said nanoparticle pressure sensor apparatus displays an emission intensity that is proportional to a pressure loading of said sensor under UV illumination.

Assignees

• Us Army

Inventors

• Nayfeh Munir H
• Marsh Charles P
• Al-Chaar Ghassan K

Classifications

• G01N21/70

  mechanically excited, e.g. triboluminescence · CPC title

• G01L1/24 Primary

  by measuring variations of optical properties of material when it is stressed, e.g. by photoelastic stress analysis {using infrared, visible light, ultraviolet} · CPC title

• G01L1/247 Primary

  using distributed sensing elements, e.g. microcapsules (along a single optical fibre G01L1/242) · CPC title