Fully integrated thermal conductivity sensor for gas chromatography without dead volume

摘要

A complete detector based on the anemometer principle and sensing the thermal conductivity of gases for application in gas chromatography (GC) will be introduced. The micromachined die contains a reference and a measurement channel. The channels consist of integrated capillary connectors. a measurement chamber, hot-wire elements and elements for thermostatting the bulk. The sensor has been designed to be connected to 100 μm separation columns and due to novel attachment of the tubing, it has virtually no dead volume. Each measurement chamber has a volume of about 14 nl. The sensing elements are fabricated as gold resistors and suspended in the middle of the gas channel. A sturdy and easy-to-handle packaging has been developed. The sensor has been successfully tested in a commercial GC set-up and consumes an approximate power of 0.5W. # 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.