Gas Absorption sensors Development for Environment based on novel mid-InfraRed hollow fibers with Enhanced functional design - GADEIRE

Project summary

Mid-InfraRed light can be used to detect a wide range of molecular species (e.g. to identify, hazardous air pollutants in the environment or explosive materials), and is an eye safe wavelength region for users. Mid-IR optical fibers could have a very high impact on the monitoring and safety of both our life and nature, through their employment within compact, flexible devices, immune to radiation interference. Silica based optical fibers have superior mechanical resistance and reliability properties but their possible exploitation is today limited by their poor performance in the mid-IR. The GADEIRE project is about the development of a new generation of hollow core fibers that will allow using silica based optical fibers up to a wavelength of 7 microns. They will be used in combination with optical sources with an extended mid-IR bandwidth and laser-based gas sensing techniques, allowing simultaneous detection of a broad range of gases hazardous for the environment and human life.