A microsensor for trinitrotoluene vapour

Many of the existing sensing technologies designed to detect explosive vapors are bulky and costly. As a result, dogs remain one of the best tools for detecting explosive vapors. A study is described that demonstrated the deflagration of trinitrotoluene in a small localized explosion on an uncoated piezoresistive microcantilever. The proposed explosive-vapor sensor design is estimated to exhibit a detection capacity comparable to that of a dog. This microsensor design should enable development of highly sensitive, miniature detection systems that can be implemented on a large scale. Details of the design and testing process for the proposed microsensor system are reported.