Portable electronic nose system based on the carbon black–polymer composite sensor array

A portable electronic nose system based on personal digital apparatus has been developed by using the vapor detection array made of carbon black–polymer composites and the user software, such as data acquisition and pattern recognition. The gas sensor array is possible to have maximum 16 sensing elements integrated on the same silicon substrate. The individual element has a Si bulk-micromachined well which allows the polymer-carbon black composite solution to be placed reproducibly in a specific and well-constrained area during the drop-coating process. Preliminary results show that our portable electronic nose system has successfully classified simple volatile organic compounds, and the complex liquor samples of brandy and whiskey.