Thermostatted micro gas chromatography column with on-chip thermal conductivity detector for elevated temperature separation

We present the design, fabrication and experimental evaluation of the first thermostatted micro gas chromatography (μGC) column with an integrated micro thermal conductivity detector (μTCD). The chip contains on-chip sensors and heater on the backside to provide robust temperature programming capability. Our unique μTCD offers many advantages over previously reported designs including low dead volume, elimination of flow restrictors, and reduction of the number of fluidic interconnects from 4 to 2. The 2cm×4cm chip was fabricated using a 3-mask process. The temperature control capabilities allowed elevated temperature separation without interfering with the detection of the TCD operation. The coated column-detector chip has successfully separated 4-component representative hydrocarbons mixture at a temperature of 75°C in less than 1 minute.