@ARTICLE{Piecek_W._Mid-wave_2017,
 author={Piecek, W. and Jaroszewicz, L. and Miszczyk, E. and Raszewski, Z. and Mrukiewicz, M. and Kula, P. and Jasek, K. and Perkowski, P. and Nowinowski-Kruszelnicki, E. and Zieliński, J. and Kędzierski, J. and Olifierczuk, M. and Chodorow, U. and Morawiak, P. and Mazur, R. and Kowiorski, K. and Harmata, P. and Herman, J.},
 volume={vol. 25},
 number={No 2},
 journal={Opto-Electronics Review},
 pages={103-109},
 howpublished={online},
 year={2017},
 publisher={Polish Academy of Sciences (under the auspices of the Committee on Electronics and Telecommunication) and Association of Polish Electrical Engineers in cooperation with Military University of Technology},
 abstract={There exists a problem with an in situ diagnostics of contamination of ethyl alcohol in a human being exhaled air. When ethyl alcohol in a mouth blowing (in a gaseous state) exists, the characteristic C–H stretch absorption bands in –CH3 and –CH2 – functional groups in ethanol (CH3–CH2–OH) appear at a wavelength of λ = 3.42 μm. To investigate the presence of ethyl alcohol in exhaled human air, the light beam of λ = 3.42 μm is passing through an air sample. If one alternately measures the intensity of the investigated beam and the reference, a percentage of ethanol in the air sample can be estimated using a sensitive nondispersive infrared (NDIR) system with a stable operating flow mass detector. To eliminate a mechanical chopper and noise generating stepper motors, a photonic chopper as a liquid crystal shutter for λ = 3.42 μm has been designed. For this purpose, an innovative infrared nematic liquid crystal mixture was intentionally prepared. The working mixture was obtained by a selective removal of CH bonds and its exchange by heavier polar substituents, what ensures a lack of absorption band of C–H bonds. The paper presents theory, concept and final experimental results of the infrared nematic liquid crystals mixture and the liquid crystal shutter for breathalyzer applications.},
 type={Article},
 title={Mid-wave infrared liquid crystal shutter for breathalyzer applications},
 URL={http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/115357/PDF/main.pdf},
 keywords={Liquid crystal, Liquid crystal shutter, Breathalyzer, Infrared},
}