INDUSTRIAL SENSORS

Mission

The Mission of the Industrial Sensors Area is to develop and apply technologies, principally electro-optic, to serve the sensing and measurement needs of industrial and government clients. We combine scientific and engineering skills with knowledge of industrial sensor requirements to design and engineer robust sensors for simple and reliable operation in demanding environments. We build one-of-a-kind custom sensor units and sensors intended for limited production, and we complete pilot production of sensors intended for volume manufacturing.

Core Competencies

Core competencies include: a broad, interdisciplinary combination of science and engineering skills with specific strengths in development and commercialization of photonics instrumentation. Areas of technical experience encompass: Physics; Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS); Optical (classical and fiber), Electrical and Mechanical Design; Optical Thermography; Photonic Component Packaging; Signal Processing and Analysis; Anomalous Signal Detection.

RMLD™, GasTemp®, and SpectraTemp® Products

Historical emphases of the area include novel commercial applications of trace gas analyzers based on Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) and high-precision optical thermometry. More than 1000 handheld TDLAS stand-off sensors have been sold by our manufacturing and marketing partner, Heath Consultants, for natural gas pipeline leak surveying. This product, the Remote Methane Leak Detector or RMLD™ is an R&D 100 Award winner. Hundreds of patented GasTemp® (®Diamond Power Specialty Co.) and SpectraTemp® (®Ametek Inc.) optical temperature monitors developed by PSI are used for continuous measurement of Furnace Exit Gas Temperature (FEGT) in coal-fired boilers. Recent work has applied TDLAS and optical thermometry to automotive test engine and component production research.

Current Research Thrusts Include:

Infrastructure Protection

- Sponsor: Department of Transportation, NYSEARCH

- Objective: Develop seismic/acoustic networked sensor system for early warning of encroachment upon natural gas pipelines

Self-training Anomaly Detection Algorithms

- Sponsors: Army, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy

- Objective: Rapid real-time alarms recognizing anomalous events within complex environments

CO₂ Sensor Networks

- Sponsor: Department of Energy

- Objective: TDLAS sensors for permanent monitoring of geological carbon sequestration sites

Networked Integrated Optic TDLAS Sensors

- Sponsor: Army

- Objective: Develop TDLAS sensors on miniature integrated optic platform suitable for wireless networking

Industrial Manufacturing Process Gas Analyzers

- Sponsors: Commercial Clients

- Objective: Develop TDLAS sensors for continuous precision gas composition measurements in manufacturing processes

Area Leadership

Dr. Mickey Frish

Dr. Mickey Frish leads the Industrial Sensors Area. He has 30 years experience developing and commercializing electro-optical sensors, and is recognized as a pioneer in establishing TDLAS as an accepted industrial trace gas sensing and analysis technology.

Contact

Mickey Frish
Physical Sciences Inc.
20 New England Business Center
Andover, MA 01810-1077

Telephone: (978) 689-0003
Fax: (978) 689-3232
frish@psicorp.com