Photonic microharp chemical sensors

We describe a new class of micro-opto-mechanical chemical sensors: A photonic microharp chemical sensor is an array of closely spaced microbridges, each differing slightly in length and coated with a different sorbent polymer. They are optically interrogated using microcavity interferometry and photothermal actuation, and are coupled directly to an optical fiber. Simultaneous measurements of the fundamental flexural resonant frequency of each microbridge allow the real-time detection and discrimination of a variety of vapor-phase analytes, including DMMP at concentrations as low as 17 ppb.