Mines Saint-Étienne has a platform of excellence dedicated to the design, fabrication, and characterization of environmental and industrial sensors. Our expertise covers the entire “sensor chain,” from material development to sensor evaluation under synthetic gas bench conditions. The work draws on skills in materials science, shaping, electrochemistry, combined with strong experimental capability (gas instrumentation and metrology).
Shaping and Prototyping Unit
Sensitive materials are developed and functionalized, then shaped into thin or thick coatings. To achieve this, the team develops solutions or inks and masters wet-deposition shaping techniques. This enables the development of prototype sensors on various substrates, rigid or flexible, and suited to different operating modes (ambient temperature or high temperature in harsh environments, for example).
- Wet deposition
Electrodeposition, screen printing, inkjet printing. - Other shaping tools
Tape casting, laser etching, sputtering, high-temperature furnaces.
Test Benches and Metrological Characterization
Particular attention is paid to sensor evaluation. The team develops custom gas test benches, enabling work at temperature with gases of different natures.
Performance Evaluation under Gas
- Gas generation
Generation capacity from ppb to %. - Controlled environment
Automated test benches with flow and humidity regulation, controlled temperature. - Monitoring & acquisition
Dedicated electronic units for sensor control, data acquisition, and real-time signal processing.
Behavioral modeling of multi-sensor systems.
Electrical and Electrochemical Measurements
- Potentiostats-galvanostats, including one coupled with EQCM and another equipped with a frequency response analyzer for complex impedance (EIS).
- Development of electronic units for sensor monitoring: electrical measurements and control.
Physico-chemical Analyses
To understand solid-gas interactions and ensure sensor reliability, the platform relies on advanced analysis tools:
- Material characterization
Access to SEM, TEM, XRD, and thermal analysis technologies. - Spectroscopic analyses
Advanced chemical characterization via XPS, Raman, FTIR, and ICP. - Gaseous environment analysis
- Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
- Reference gas analyzers for pollutant monitoring (NOx, CO, NH3, O2, etc.).
- Thermodesorption and chemisorption equipment for the study of surface interactions.
Application areas
- Air quality
Urban and indoor monitoring (gases, particles). - Industry & Safety
Leak detection, combustion control and process safety, explosive detection, printed electronics. - Health
Pre-diagnosis of diseases via breath analysis.
📞 Contact and access
The platform is open to academic collaborations and industrial services.
Mathilde RIEU
