The target product is the series of portable optical gas analyzers based on optoelectronic components, operating in middle infrared (MIR) spectral range, for following gases: methane, hydrocarbons, carbon mono- and dioxides.

Within the project it is supposed to develop a series of portable MIR-spectroanalyzers for measurement of hazardous gas concentrations - hydrocarbons, methane, carbon mono- and dioxide, vapor etc. It is actual for wide range of industries.

The most obvious consumers of developed devices can be a petroleum, gas and coal industry, municipal and ecological services of cities, medicine and microbiological industry, scientific establishments.

The project is supposed to be finished with manufacturing of test lot of portable gas analyzers (1), preparation of the technical and technological documentation for pilot manufacturing (2000-3000 devices per year) of portable gas analyzers (2) and preparation of test equipment with control and calibration procedures’ documentation (3).

Our series of portable gas analyzers are based on:

• Modular principles of designing;
• New types of optoelectronic components (detectors and light emitters);
• Microprocessors and programming logic microcircuits for digital control of operating modes (stabilization of temperature, parameters of light emitters, zero calibrating of photodetectors), data acquisition and processing;
• Specialized low power consumption integrated circuits for optoelectronic components’ monitoring.

Modular designing. Our company realizes modular principles of gas sensors. It means that devices consist of unified parts and components with standard interfaces. It allows accelerating development new products, to meet various customers' demands and to promote products to market.

The modular principle is used for universal and cost-effective designing of family of gas analyzers from simple hand-held tool up to multi-point fixed systems and special analyzers for precise measurements.

The basic module of our gas analyzers is an "intellectual gas probe" (head). It is an integrated module, which consists of optical cell for single gas and electronic board for digital operation. The "intellectual gas probe" is the functionally completed measuring device, which provides all operating processes: data acquisition, calibration and diagnostics.

Portable hand-held devices will consist of ‘intellectual gas probe' and microprocessor module for real-time data display, data store and downloading to output devices as computer, printer etc. Fixed multi-point systems will be linked to module concentrators or directly to a computer in accordance with any standard industrial interface of such monitoring and alarm systems. For precise devices it will be used more complicated design of optical cells.

Optoelectronic components. New types of optoelectronic components (photodetectors, light emitters and optopairs) will be used in these gas analyzers.

These components are based on thin-film technology of semiconductor materials A2B6, as PbSe and PbS. Specified optoelectronic components work in the middle infrared (MIR) spectral range of 2 - 5 um.

Comparative tests of optopairs, made from developed photodetectors and light emitters have shown, that the developed products much surpass the nearest analogues. This optoelectronic base allows to develop essentially new IR-gas analyzer’s design.

Microprocessors and electronic design. The digital operating based on modern microelectronics with technology of surface mounting should supply maximum miniaturization and modern architecture of electronic units.

particular attention will be given to minimization of power consumption for increase of resource of portable devices. It will be done by application of special algorithms of operating and high effective analog-code converters for management of such power-intensive consumers, as light emitters and TE coolers. It is supposed to develop special software for microprocessor control of "intellectual gas probe", its calibration.

For design of typical systems for gas analyzing it is supposed to develop software in the standards of popular operating systems. In development of the software, the attention will be given to the maximum automation of devices operating, accuracy and reliability of measurements.

We are going to reach the following characteristics:

Parameter/measuring gas	CO2 CO CnHm CH4*
Limits .% vol (ppm)	0.01…100 (10…1,000,000) 0.01…10 (10…100,000) 0.01…10 (10…100,000) 0.01…100 (10…1,000,000)
Accuracy	2…3% for portable device options 1…0.5 % for precise device options
Speed of response	< 0.1 sec
Zero drift	no zero drifts
Sensor (opto-pair) life time	self calibr >15,000 hours of continues operation guarantiedation
Operating temperatures	-30 … +60 oC.
Stabilizing mode	Thermo-stabilizing with built-in TE coolers
Measuring scheme	Dual channel optical absorption
Device options	basic gas probes with RS232 interface; portable gas analyzers; modules for fixed systems with industrial interface (RS422, 4-20 mA or similar); gas analyzers for precise measurements.
Dimensions Gas cell Intellectual probe Module for fixed systems Portable gas analyzer	not more than: 35 x 35 x 50 mm 35 x 35 x 130 mm 50 x 50 x 80 mm 40 x 80 x 140 mm
Weight: Gas cell Intellectual probe Module for fixed systems Portable gas analyzer	not more than: 250 g 500 g 500 g 800 g

* Selectivity with factor Q> 5 in case of the analysis of methane on a background of heavier factions of hydrocarbons (for example, propane - butane mixure).

Most of known gas analyzers, particularly portable types, based on other than optical principles of detection – electrochemical cells, gas resistors and so on. Only complicated and expansive devices are based on direct optical absorption.

Non-optical devices have such advantages as low cost, compactness and easiness in operation. But drawbacks are also known. The following are most critical: poor accuracy, limited lifetime, and degradation in time, poor selectivity, and very slow time of response and others.

From the other hand, optical gas analyzers have such advantages as selectivity, accuracy, speed of response, wide measurement ranges. However, currently these devices are too complicated, very expansive, and they are not suitable for compact designing. So they are limited in applications.

We are going "to couple" advantages of these both directions of gas sensors:

• Our gas sensors also based on optical absorption spectroscopy. So they really have listed above advantages;
• Concepts of module design and new optoelectronic components allow us to appropriate advantages of non-optical devices – low cost, compactness and low power consumption.

It is because new light emitters and detectors are miniature and are designed specially for high precision and low power consumption applications. They have not analogues.These new components are developing in cooperation with our strategic partners particularly for gas sensor applications. Comparative tests have shown, that the our optopairs (coordinated detector and and light emitter) much surpass the nearest analogues.

High level of photoelectric characteristics of the optoelectronic components and design principles will not be achieved by potential competitors during nearest one - two years.

Furthermore, we apply our own methods and components for increasing of accuracy. It is known method of local cooling and thermo-stabilizing of gas detectors. However, here we use our own miniature thermoelectric (TE) coolers.

These TE coolers have best parameters in the world. It allows us a designing of high precision gas sensors in portable type. It is due to miniaturization of detectors and light emitters with built-in thermo-stabilizing mode with low power consumption. Earlier it was possible only for complex and expansive devices.

So our concept allows the designing of compact and precision gas analyzers with following unique features:

• high sensitivity;
• good selectivity;
• speed of response;
• wide range of measuring concentrations;
• compactness;
• low cost.

The market of gas analyzers was approximately $ 200 M at wholesale last period of 1996 year (Bureau of the Census, US State Department of Commerce), and is expected to grow up 4% in the next year.

The statistics is modest and does not include forecasts based on great importance of ecological situation in the world. Moreover, ecological problems are becoming priorities for humankind.

Various industrial, transport and municipal air pollution are the main reasons of such global problems as climate change and ozone layer depletion. So cold Green House Gases (GHGs) as carbon dioxide and methane contribute considerably to the problems as major pollutants.

Many national and international environmental programs (for instance, (Fifth Environmental Action Programme of European Communities the period 1993 to 2000 and beyond, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act in 1990, U.S. South Coast Air Quality Management District and others) are focused into reduction of global air pollution, control and effective monitoring of pollution sources. As the results, governments of various states improve legislation and introduce new laws for strong protection of environment, including effective control.

This causes a lot demands for hundreds of thousands of portable and fixed gas analyzers for various spheres: industry, cities, agriculture, transport and so on. For market of gas analyzers (CO₂, CH₄ and others) it means very big and long-term perspective for control of commercial as well as indoor environments, appliance regulating controls and so on.

We define major market segments as portable gas sensors and module components (gas cells, gas probes, and concentrators) for fixed gas monitoring systems for:

• ecological monitoring and control of gas pollution in industries, city services, agriculture - control hydrocarbons, carbon oxide and dioxide in pollution of a vehicles, plants, wastes ets.
• industry and industrial activity, connected to presence of explosive and fire - control of the contents and pollution of methane and hydrocarbons.
• fire-prevention safety in a municipal city services (underground communications, underground, oil- and gas station and etc.) - control of the carbon mono- and dioxides, methane.
• control of working gases in industrial processing - control of carbon dioxide gas, hydrocarbons.

The commercial demand on portable and inexpensive gas analyzers is supplied for large number of applications, not listed above, and in other areas of manufacture, science, engineering etc.

Responding to market needs, we plan to follow products with extensions to our line, which include gas analyzers for other gases. Current target products (series of portable optical gas analyzers based on optoelectronic components for selected gases) cover only a part of possibly important applications.

On the basis of our optoelectronic components operating in the middle infrared spectral range (2...5 um) and modular flexible principle of analysers’ design, it is possible to cover various applications. In this spectral range there are characteristic lines of optical absorption of number of environmental gases, representing products of human activity (Table 1).

Our new product selection criteria in this case are as follows: relatively low investment requirements, positive return on investment, fitness with present strategy.

Based on our projections, we are confident that an investment to this project is a sound business investment.