New sensitive layer based on pulsed plasma-polymerized aniline for integrated optical ammonia sensor

A new integrated optical sensor based on plasma-polyaniline sensitive layer for ammonia detection is designed and developed. The sensor is based on polyaniline elaborated by the plasma technique (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, PECVD) and deposited on a small section of a single-mode planar SU-8 waveguide. The sensing properties of the integrated optical sensor to ammonia at room temperature are presented. A significant change in the guided light output power of the sensor is observed after exposition to ammonia gas. This new ammonia sensor exhibits fast response and recovery times, good reversibility and repeatability. The metrological parameters (sensitivity, response time and recovery time) of the sensor are strongly influenced by the interaction length (length of sensing region), the type of dopant and the light polarization. The sensor has a logarithmic linear optical response within the ammonia concentration range between 92 and 4618 ppm.