title: A monolithically-integrated μGC chemical sensor system.
abstract: Gas chromatography (GC) is used for organic and inorganic gas detection with a range of applications including screening for chemical warfare agents (CWA), breath analysis for diagnostics or law enforcement purposes, and air pollutants/indoor air quality monitoring of homes and commercial buildings. A field-portable, light weight, low power, rapid response, micro-gas chromatography (μGC) system is essential for such applications. We describe the design, fabrication and packaging of μGC on monolithically-integrated Si dies, comprised of a preconcentrator (PC), μGC column, detector and coatings for each of these components. An important feature of our system is that the same mechanical micro resonator design is used for the PC and detector. We demonstrate system performance by detecting four different CWA simulants within 2 min. We present theoretical analyses for cost/power comparisons of monolithic versus hybrid μGC systems. We discuss thermal isolation in monolithic systems to improve overall performance. Our monolithically-integrated μGC, relative to its hybrid cousin, will afford equal or slightly lower cost, a footprint that is 1/2 to 1/3 the size and an improved resolution of 4 to 25%.
authors.affiliation: Sandia National Laboratories, Integrated Microdevice Systems Department, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA. rpmangi@sandia.gov
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Manginell
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Moorman
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Joshua J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Whiting
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: Davor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Copic
authors.forename: Komandoor E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Achyuthan
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000295:instrumentation; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D005740:Gases