Elabdein Mohamed Z, Mohammed Nazmi A, El-Rabaie El-Sayed M, Khedr Omar E
Electronics and Communications Engineering Department, Alexandria Higher Institute for Engineering and Technology, Alexandria, Egypt.
College of Engineering, Ahlia University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Sci Rep. 2025 Sep 18;15(1):32609. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-20186-4.
Nerve agents such as Sarin, Soman, and Tabun are among the most lethal chemical warfare agents, classified as mass destruction agents due to their extreme toxicity and rapid disruption of the nervous system. These highly volatile and easily dispersible compounds can be deployed in warfare or acts of terrorism, causing fatal respiratory failure, seizures, and irreversible nerve damage even at minimal exposure. The urgency of detecting these agents with high precision is critical for global security and counterterrorism efforts. To address this challenge, a highly sensitive photonic crystal fiber (PCF) sensor with an elliptical cladding and circular core (E-PCF) is designed for the rapid and accurate detection of nerve agents in the terahertz (THz) spectrum. The sensor employs circular air holes in the vestibule region to enhance light-matter interaction, optimizing detection through key performance metrics such as relative sensitivity, effective material loss, and confinement loss. Using two materials, such as silica glass and Zeonex as background materials, the proposed sensor demonstrates exceptional sensitivity and minimal loss. Numerical analysis within the 1.6-3.6 THz range reveals outstanding performance for Sarin (99.6% relative sensitivity, 3 × 10⁻ dB/m confinement loss), Soman (98.8% relative sensitivity, 1.1 × 10⁻¹² dB/m loss), and Tabun (98% relative sensitivity, 7.6 × 10⁻ dB/m loss). With its exceptional optical properties, silica glass ensures highly reliable detection, making the proposed sensor a powerful tool for counterterrorism efforts, environmental monitoring, industrial hazard detection, and military defense. This innovative PCF-based sensing technology marks a major breakthrough in chemical warfare agent detection, providing a fast, precise, and efficient solution for identifying highly toxic substances that pose severe threats to public safety and national security.
沙林、梭曼和塔崩等神经毒剂是最致命的化学战剂之一，由于其极高的毒性和对神经系统的快速破坏，被列为大规模杀伤性武器。这些极易挥发且易于扩散的化合物可用于战争或恐怖主义行为，即使在极低暴露量的情况下，也会导致致命的呼吸衰竭、癫痫发作和不可逆转的神经损伤。高精度检测这些毒剂对于全球安全和反恐努力至关重要。为应对这一挑战，设计了一种具有椭圆形包层和圆形纤芯的高灵敏度光子晶体光纤（PCF）传感器（E-PCF），用于在太赫兹（THz）光谱中快速准确地检测神经毒剂。该传感器在前庭区域采用圆形气孔以增强光与物质的相互作用，通过相对灵敏度、有效材料损耗和限制损耗等关键性能指标优化检测效果。使用二氧化硅玻璃和Zeonex等两种材料作为背景材料，所提出的传感器表现出卓越的灵敏度和最小的损耗。在1.6 - 3.6 THz范围内的数值分析显示，该传感器对沙林（相对灵敏度99.6%，限制损耗3×10⁻⁶ dB/m）、梭曼（相对灵敏度98.8%，损耗1.1×10⁻¹² dB/m）和塔崩（相对灵敏度98%，损耗7.6×10⁻⁶ dB/m）具有出色的性能。凭借其卓越的光学特性，二氧化硅玻璃确保了高度可靠的检测，使所提出的传感器成为反恐、环境监测、工业危害检测和军事防御的有力工具。这种基于光子晶体光纤的创新传感技术标志着化学战剂检测的重大突破，为识别对公共安全和国家安全构成严重威胁的剧毒物质提供了快速、精确且高效的解决方案。
