Temperature sensor for environmental monitoring
The increasing use of natural gas heating systems in homes and offices has meant that there needs to be constant monitoring for harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. Furthermore, the spread of landfill waste sites throughout the European Union has led to a rise in the amount of methane gas being released to the environment. The result has been greater levels of pollution and the possibility of explosions. The NANOPHOS project successfully created prototype sensors. This was the result of a successful integration between science and technology, with strong backing from industry. The aim was to produce an exploitable product within five to ten years. A second generation of prototype sensors was developed, which includes a temperature sensor. Researchers designed a basic platform which used standard off-the-shelf components. It could be employed as the electronic processing end for the whole range of NANOPHOS gas, temperature or relative humidity sensors.