Micro gas preconcentrator in porous silicon filled with a carbon absorbent

El Hadji Malick Camara (1, 2, 3, 4) , Philippe Breuil (1, 2, 3) , Danick Briand (4) , Laurent Guillot (4) , Christophe Pijolat (1, 2, 3) , Nicolaas F de Rooij (4)

1 MICC-ENSMSE - Département Microsystèmes, Instrumentation et Capteurs Chimiques
2 LPMG-EMSE - Laboratoire des Procédés en Milieux Granulaires
3 SPIN-ENSMSE - Centre Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels
4 Institute of Microtechnology

This paper presents the development of a gas preconcentrator based on a micro-channel in porous silicon filled with carbon nanopowders by a micro-fluidic process. The particularity of this device is its applicability in the fields of atmospheric pollution monitoring by targeting VOCS (volatiles organic compounds). Various designs of micro-devices have been investigated and a special focus has been dedicated to the carbon adsorbent. The optimization of the device and its operation were driven by its future application in outdoor environments. The benefits of using porous silicon to ease the fixing of the carbon absorbent in micro-channels and to modify the gas desorption kinetic are also investigated. Results on a device based on a carbon adsorbent powder filled in a porous silicon micro-channel for benzene preconcentration are reported.

Mots clés: Preconcentrator; Gas sensors; Micro-channel; Porous silicon

Domaines: Génie des procédés

El Hadji Malick Camara, Philippe Breuil, Danick Briand, Laurent Guillot, Christophe Pijolat, et al.. Micro gas preconcentrator in porous silicon filled with a carbon absorbent. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2010, 148 (2), pp.610-619. ⟨10.1016/j.snb.2010.05.054⟩. ⟨hal-00508020⟩