Silicon Carbide Solid-State Spectroscopy System for Methyl Salicylate Monitoring in Agriculture field 2.0

The aim of this activity is to make a portable device for the detection, in real time and/or remotely, of MeSA as marker for monitoring plant health conditions. Additional experiments performed allowed us to demonstrate the stability of the entire optical system of the bench laboratory adopted set-up, in terms of temperature and along the time. After the feasibility studies, the assembly of a portable and low-cost system has been started for the realization of a potential prototype for on-field studies. A new compact system in PVC containing a little light source, a small chamber and a SiC detector, of reduced size than the previously used one, has been made. The characterization of LED, choose as a light source for the development of a portable and low-cost sensor platform, permitted to prove that it is suitable for this scope and its characteristics are in line with our required needs.