Microfluidic RF Communication System for Data Retrieval 🔥
	Micro Gas Chromatography 🔥
	Mechanical Behavior and Thermal Management
	MEMS Micro-Pumps for a Cryogenic Heat Transport System
	MicroEngine: Structures and Devices
	MicroEngine: Fabrication and Characterization

  Micro Gas Chromatography

The objective of this research is to develop a highly sensitive, mechanically robust and mass producible gas micro-detector, designed for integration into a portable micro-gas chromatographic system capable of competing with the performance of traditionally laboratory instrumentation. The approach taken is to optimize performance and sensitivity of the detector by modeling, analyzing and testing the different heat flux pathways from the active element of the detector. Furthermore, the modeling and testing are performed to enable violent mechanical shocks and a wide range of thermal and chemical operating environments.

In the push for novel gas sensors and detection mechanisms, little effort has been put into enhancing thermal conductivity detectors, one of the oldest gas sensors. However, thermal conductivity detectors are uniquely suited for miniaturization, since they are sensitive to the concentration of substances within a mixture, not the total mass of a sample, a limitation of flame ionization detectors and mass spectrometers. Therefore, miniaturization of gas chromatographic systems employing thermal conductivity detectors can maintain functional sensitivity while processing smaller sample masses, while simultaneously reducing power consumption and increasing mechanical robustness.

The development of a highly sensitive, yet simple and robust detector, integrated into a miniaturized system enables applied gas chromatography to make an impact on fields ranging from point of care health services and homeland security, to industry process control and geological exploration.

Representative Publications
(^#denotes graduate students/postdocs supervised by X. Zhang; *denotes corresponding author by X. Zhang)