A CMOS optical detection system for point-of-use luminescent oxygen sensing

This work describes a stable and sensitive optical oxygen sensor based on a consumer CMOS image sensor array and polarization signal isolation. The consumer CMOS image sensor is inherently color discriminating, while the polarization is a wavelength-independent scheme for filtering excitation light. Combination of these two components generates a compact, multi-color detection system applicable to luminescence-based sensing. The optical system is applied to point-of-use oxygen sensing based on quenching of platinum octaethylporphine (PtOEP) luminophore. Sensitivity of the demonstrated portable oxygen sensor is comparable to that of benchtop spectroscopy-based systems. Taking advantage of the spatial resolution of the CMOS image sensor, an oxygen insensitive reference can be integrated to improve the reliability when powered by a battery. The low-cost and high sensitivity of the demonstrated optical sensing approach make it promising for point-of-use applications.