CMOS Technology Makes Electronic Nose Affordable

A team of engineers at the Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE) at UT Dallas is working to develop an affordable electronic nose that can be used in breath analysis for a wide range of health diagnoses. Existing devices built with compound semiconductors can conduct breath analysis, but they are bulky and too costly for commercial use, said Dr. Kenneth O, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of TxACE. The researchers determined that using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit technology will make the electronic nose more affordable. (See Figure 1) CMOS is the integrated circuit technology used to manufacture the bulk of electronics that have made smartphones, tablets, and other devices possible.