Micromachined flame ionization detector and flame spectrometer

摘要

In the course of a progressive miniaturization of complex measuring systems conventional flame ionization detectors and flame spectrometers are no longer competitive with the new generation of mobile analysis systems. This paper presents a micro flame ionization detector and flame spectrometer structured by methods of the microsystem technology. Main component is a micro burner unit with a reduced oxyhydrogen consumption to realize a stable miniature oxyhydrogen flame. The required oxyhydrogen is generated by electrolysis in a miniaturized electrolysis cell at low energy consumption. Thus the electrolyzer can be battery operated. Due to the reduced amount of explosive oxyhydrogen and the small dimensions of the gas supply micro flame analyzers have an unlimited mobility without safety restrictions and are easy to handle. Furthermore they have a high sensitivity and selectivity similar to conventional systems. Concentrations down to one ppm are detectable up to now with the micro flame ionization detector. The micro flame spectrometer is in its initial stage. First measurements to demonstrate the further possibilities of such a microsystem are presented.