An all electronic, fully microfabricated micro gas chromatograph

This paper reports a full micro gas chromatograph (μGC) in which all the components are electronic. All components, including a Knudsen pump, a preconcentrator, separation columns, and capacitive gas detectors, form a complete μGC system that has no moving parts, uses room air as carrier gas, and can be fabricated by a common low-cost process. The preliminary system has experimentally demonstrated sampling, separation, and detection of 12 chemicals with 1- 10 ppm concentrations. The calculated detection limit is expected to reach as low as 20 ppb.