GAS SENSOR

Gas sensors for the detection of rare events consume very little or no power. The sensors include materials that interact with a target gas. Accumulation of the target gas on the sensor materials leads to a change in electrical properties of the sensor. The sensors may have high gain, meaning that a large electrical change is induced upon gas accumulation. The sensor might change from an extremely high resistance (open circuit) to a measurably low resistance, or it might change from a relatively low capacitance to a high capacitance. The gas sensors are connected to electronics that can transmit an alarm signal after gas has been detected. The electronics may be in a low power sleep mode until awakened by a signal from the sensor.