title: A remotely interrogatable sensor for chemical monitoring.
abstract: A new type of continuously operating, in-situ, remotely monitored sensor is presented. The sensor is comprised of a thin film array of magnetostatically coupled, magnetically soft ferromagnetic thin film structures, adhered to or encased within a thin polymer layer. The polymer is made so that it swells or shrinks in response to the chemical analyte of interest, which in this case is pH. As the polymer swells or shrinks, the magnetostatic coupling between the magnetic elements changes, resulting in changes in the magnetic switching characteristics of the sensor. Placed within a sinusoidal magnetic field the magnetization vector of the coupled sensor elements periodically reverses directions, generating magnetic flux that can be remotely detected as a series of voltage spikes in appropriately placed pickup coils. one preliminary sensor design consists of four triangles, initially spaced approximately 50 micrometers apart, arranged to form a 12 mm x 12 mm square with the triangle tips centered at a common origin. Our preliminary work has focused on monitoring of pH using a lightly crosslinked pH sensitive polymer layer of hydroxyethylmethacrylate and 2-(dimethylamino) ethylmethacrylate. As the polymer swells or shrinks the magnetostatic coupling between the triangles changes, resulting in measurable changes in the amplitude of the detected voltage spirits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, The University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Stoyanov
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Grimes
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Seitz
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004581:Electronics; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004867:Equipment Design; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008280:Magnetics; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013686:Telemetry
chemical_list: D008689:Methacrylates; D011108:Polymers; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate