LiGA Fabricated High Aspect Ratio Nickel Gas Chromatograph Columns as a Step Towards a Portable and Fast GC Instrument

摘要

A GC-MS analysis is considered the "gold standard" in scientific analysis. Combining the micro-GC system with a miniature mass spectrometer will lead to a truly portable and fast instrument capable of confirmed testing of compounds. This project involves using the LiGA micromachining technique to build high aspect ratio gas chromatograph columns to be used as part of a miniaturized GC system. The columns are 30-50 (mu)m wide, 400-650 (mu)m tall (aspect-ratios of 10-15), 0.5-2 m long and cover a spatial area of 1-2 cm~(2). LiGA enables efficient integration of such functions as miniature detectors, heaters for temperature programming, and multi-stage pre-concentration directly onto the column chip to form a compact handheld system with enhanced performance with of reduced power consumption and increased speed and resolution of analysis.