Sandia Corporation

Richard Kottenstette

Ronald P Manginell

Gregory Charles Frye-Mason

Sanjay V Patel

Robert C Hughes

Carolyn M Matzke

Mark W Jenkins

A chemical-sensing apparatus is formed from the combination of a chemical preconcentrator which sorbs and concentrates particular volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and one or more chemiresistors that sense the VOCs after the preconcentrator has been triggered to release them in concentrated form. Use of the preconcentrator and chemiresistor(s) in combination allows the VOCs to be detected at lower concentration than would be possible using the chemiresistor(s) alone and further allows measurements to be made in a variety of fluids, including liquids (e.g. groundwater). Additionally, the apparatus provides a new mode of operation for sensing VOCs based on the measurement of decay time constants, and a method for background correction to improve measurement precision.

Apparatus for sensing volatile organic chemicals in fluids

A new class of miniaturized gas chromatographic columns has been invented. These chromatographic columns are formed using conventional micromachining techniques, and allow packed columns having lengths on the order of a meter to be fabricated with a footprint on the order of a square centimeter.

Microfabricated packed gas chromatographic column

Growing community of inventors

Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Richard Kottenstette