High sensitivity, portable photonic device for pervasive water quality analysis

WaterSpy will develop water quality detection photonics technology suitable for online, field measurements, operating in the 6-10 μm region. The solution is based on the combined use of advanced, tuneable Quantum Cascade Lasers supplied by Alpes Lasers and fibre-coupled, fast & sensitive Higher Operation Temperature photodetectors supplied by VIGO. 

Together with these new components, optimized laser driving and detector electronics as well as laser modulation concepts will be developed. Attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy will be used to give rise to the biochemical profile of the surface chemistry of the sample. Targeted analytes will be specific heterotrophic bacterial cells. 

Several novel techniques are employed in order to increase the SNR, including antibodies capable of binding the targeted analytes and a novel pre-concentration method. WaterSpy technology will be integrated, for validation purposes, to a commercially successful water quality monitoring platform, in the form of a portable device add-on. WaterSpy will be used in the field for the analysis of critical points of water distribution networks. 

Within this project, Alpes Lasers develops broadly tuneable Quantum Cascade Laser systems. These sources present no moving mechanical parts and tuning is achieved by changing the laser medium temperature using micro-heaters integrated inside the laser chip (Vernier-based cavities composed by two distributed bragg reflectors -DBRs- with integrated heaters). Using this technology, high speed and compact tuneable sources can be achieved across the whole IR spectral range. ALPES also develops a custom, self-contained driver capable of powering and tuning Vernier QCLs.