IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop Series on Advanced Materials and Processes (IMWS-AMP 2017), 20-22 September 2017,

Pavia, Italy

Advanced Compact and Portable Sensing Solutions

for Agriculture and Environmental Applications
Goran Kitic, Vasa Radonic, Slobodan Birgermajer, Norbert Cselyszka,
Georges Dubourg, Georgios Niarchos, Nikolina Jankovic, Vesna Crnojevic-Bengin
BioSense Institute
Novi Sad, Serbia
bengin@biosense.rs

Abstract— In this paper, we present four sensors for
agriculture and environmental applications, which are based on
different sensing concepts including microwave microfluidics,
nanomaterials, and fluorescence method. The configurations and
working principles of the proposed sensors are explained. The
proposed solutions are characterized by good sensitivity and
selectivity, as well as by simple design and cost-effective
fabrication. Also, the solutions are very compact and two of them
have been realized as portable devices.
Keywords—sensor, microfluidic, nanoparticle, fluoroscence,
optical, environmental, agriculture
I. INTRODUCTION
To provide sustainable utilization and optimal management
of natural resources, it is necessary to monitor and control
various environmental processes and parameters. This is
particularly the case of agriculture, which is required to produce
more food for ever-increasing population, and thus it has to
become more efficient but, аt the same time, sustainable and
environmental-friendly [1]. To that end, a number of biophysical
parameters of plants, soil, and food products need to be
monitored and measured constantly, thus providing valuable
data needed to optimize the entire process.
New sensing devices and technologies are the key in
addressing those challenges, and there have been developed
numerous devices for in-situ sensing of various agro, food-, and
environment-related parameters. State-of-the-art solutions rely
on different transduction concepts such as electromagnetic (EM)
[2-3], optical [4-6], microelectromechanical (MEMS) [7], and
microfluidic [8-9], as well as on advanced nanoscale materials
[10-12]. Whilst most EM sensors operate in microwave regime,
the majority of optical sensors comprises fiber optical devices
and devices based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Also,
various nanoscale materials including nanoparticles, carbon
nanotubes and graphene have been investigated for sensing
applications since their properties are very sensitive to changes
in surrounding media.
Although various new high-performance sensors have been
developed, there is no one-size-fits-all sensing solution, which
is primarily due to diversity and specificity of the parameters to
be measured. To achieve high sensitivity and selectivity, and low
response time in measurement of different analytes, different
transduction principles, technologies, and techniques have to be
applied. Moreover, independently of their purpose, sensing
solutions are required to meet the ever-increasing demands for
compactness, portability, and low-cost.
To demonstrate the potential of different sensing concepts,
in this paper we present four different sensing solutions for
agriculture and environmental applications, namely -
microfluidic microwave electronic bandgap (EBG) sensor,
nanoparticle-based colorimetric sensor for nitrate detection,
algae sensor based on fluorescence method, and humidity sensor
based on ZnO nanoparticles. The configurations and working
principles of the proposed sensors are explained, and their
responses confirm their high performance in terms of sensitivity,
selectivity, and response time. The proposed solutions are very
compact and two of them have been realized as portable devices.
Moreover, all solutions are characterized by simple design and
cost-effective fabrication.
II. 3D PRINTED MICROFLUIDIC MICROSTRIP EBG SENSOR
Microfluidics, a technology of manipulating of the small
quantity of fluids, has found the applications in various scientific
disciplines such as inkjet printing, environment, biomedicine,
etc. Recently, 3D printed microfluidic attracts significant
attention due to their low-costs and simple fabrication process
and good compatibility.
The proposed microfluidic microstrip EBG sensor is
composed of the microstrip line, defected structure etched in the
ground plane and 350 µm meandered microfluidic channel
embedded between the microstrip line and ground plane, Fig. 1,
[13]. The microstrip substrate and microfluidic channel have
been fabricated by a conventional FDM 3D printing technology
using polylactic acid filament without any supporting layer or
soluble material.
The sensor employs the phase shift method that measures the
phase shift of the propagation signal at single operating
frequency of 6 GHz. Namely, the change in the permittivity of
the fluid to be detected affects the effective substrate
permittivity, which ultimately affects the phase of the
propagating signal. The sensitivity of the sensor is improved by
reducing the wave group velocity using periodic patterns based
on defected EBG structure in the ground layer.
The characteristics of different fluids in the channel have
been analysed by the phase shift measurements of the
transmitted signal, and the sensitivity of the proposed sensor is
shown in Fig. 1. The results reveal that the change of the fluids’
permittivity from 1 to 80 (air to water) results in the phase shift

978-1-5386-0480-9/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop Series on Advanced Materials and Processes (IMWS-AMP 2017), 20-22 September 2017, Pavia, Italy
of 86°. Moreover, the proposed sensor shows almost linear
sensitivity for fluids with dielectric constant lower than 30. The
potential application is demonstrated by the implementation of
proposed sensor for the detection of toluene concentration in
toluene-methanol mixture, [13]. The phase difference changes
linearly when the concentration of toluene changes from 0% to
100%, with sensitivity of 0.54° per percentage of toluene.
Fig. 1. The layout and the response of the 3D printed microfluidic microstrip
EBG sensor for different fluids in the microchannel, [13].
III. PORTABLE DEVICE FOR NANOPARTICLE-BASED DETECTION
OF NITRATE CONCENTRATION
Nitrate is the largest component of total nitrogen in most
freshwater systems and, in many locations, represents the most
significant concern for algal blooms and human health.
However, it is not possible to detect nitrate in water without
testing since it is colorless, odorless and tasteless. The proposed
device employs for nitrate concentration measurement
colorimetric method whose underlying principle is that the color
and absorption/transmission at a specific visible wavelength of
the sample, containing the analyzed compound and color
reagent, changes with the concentration of the analyzed
compound.
In this particular case, the sample is prepared using a water
sample containing nitrates that is filtrated and afterwards mixed
with indicator nanoparticle-based powder. The sample is put
into the cuvette that is placed in the analysis chamber of the
device and then the transmission of the light at 420 nm, through
the prepared sample, is measured. For that purpose, the system
composed of constant current LED driver, high-intensity LED
source and light-to-voltage optical sensor TSL12S is used. The
complete system is packed in a specially designed and 3D-
printing fabricated housing, Fig. 2(a).
To calibrate the device, a set of nitrate solutions in the range
of concentrations 0-200 mg/l were prepared by dissolving the
stoichiometrically calculated amount of potassium nitrate
(KNO3) in deionized water. After mixing the solutions with the
indicator powder calibration, the measurements were performed
and calibration curve was constructed, Fig. 2(b). In order to
validate the performance of the device, a comparison to ion-
selective electrode (ISE) referent measurement was made. Inset
in the Fig. 2(b) shows excellent correlation and a near 1:1
978-1-5386-0480-9/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
relationship (R2 = 0.9893) between the proposed and the referent
methods.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2. Portable device for nitrate concentration detection in water sample:
a) Device prototype; b) Calibration curve and comparison with ISE method.
IV. FLUORESCENCE-BASED ALGAE SENSOR
Water resource monitoring is essential to gain insight into
ecosystem health, nutrient status, and harmful algal bloom
potential in aquatic systems. Excessive nutrient levels can
dramatically alter water environments causing algae blooming,
oxygen depletion, and in extreme cases disturbance of the
ecosystem with negative effects to animal and human health.
In this paper, we report a portable low-cost fluorescence
sensor for in-situ detection of a microalgae sample and its
chlorophyll concentration. The sensor configuration and
operating principle are shown in Fig. 3. The working principle
of chlorophyll fluorescence is based on the detection of the
emitted fluorescent light (emission wavelength around 680 nm)
from chlorophyll molecules when they absorb the light.
The sensor is comprised of the following elements: four light
emitting blue LED diodes with 430 nm peak wavelength for
excitation; a silicon photodetector Osram BPX65 for measuring
a fluorescent signal from a microalgae sample; a red optical filter
used to allow only the fluorescent signal from chlorophyll a to
pass through the photodetector; sample holder; and electronic
circuit for measurements with AD623 amplifier. The
concentration of the microalgae sample is determined by the
measurement of the amplified signal from the photodetector.
The designed fluorescent sensor has been characterized by
varying the concentration of microalgae samples, as shown in
Fig. 4, and the measured results demonstrate the sensor’s
capability to determine the critical microalgae concentrations
above 4 µg/l with the resolution of 2 µg/l.
IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Workshop Series on Advanced Materials and Processes (IMWS-AMP 2017), 20-22 September 2017, Pavia, Italy
Fig. 3. Algae sensor operating principle.
Fig. 4. Sensor prototype and output voltage as function of the chrophyll
concentration.
V. HUMIDITY SENSOR BASED ON ZNO NANO-PARTICLES
Humidity sensing plays a significant role in agriculture and
environmental monitoring and modern technological
advancements have imposed a staggering demand for cost-
effective and high-performance solutions. Paper has recently
emerged as a promising material for flexible, low-cost, and
lightweight devices, offering a range of unique properties such
as biodegradability and chemical compatibility with various
substances. On the other hand, metal oxide nanomaterials such
as ZnO are very promising materials for sensor advancement
due to their superior electrical and optical properties, high
thermal, chemical and mechanical stability, bio-compatibilty
and low-cost fabrication methods and they have been widely
used in sensors to increase their sensitivity.
Fig. 5. SEM pictures and response of the sensor, [14].
978-1-5386-0480-9/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
We present a humidity sensor based on an interdigitated
electrode (IDE) architecture covered by a layer of ZnO
nanoparticles prepared through sol-gel solutions [14]. IDE have
been realized through a mask-less laser patterning method on
simple, commercial printing papers (a rough one with 80grm-2
basis weight and a glossy with 200grm-2 basis weight) on which
a thin Au film was sputtered directly and ablated using a short
pulse laser, inset of Fig. 5.
Resistive measurements across the IDEs, for known relative
humidity levels (10%–70%), were performed under room
temperature conditions to assess the sensing properties of the
sensors. Fig. 5 reveals high response and recovery times of the
sensor, which at the same time does not need a refreshing
method. The results indicate the potential of this configuration
for low-cost and high-sensitivity humidity sensing devices.
VI. CONCLUSION
Four different sensing concepts for application in agriculture
and environment protection were presented. The proposed
sensors exhibit good performance, they are also very compact
and two of them have been realized as portable devices, which
demonstrates their potential for high-performance, cost-
effective sensing devices.
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