Micro Gas Analysis System for Detecting CW Agents

Attacks using chemical warfare (CW) agents are a principal threat to the US homeland and deployed assets. This proposal focuses on demonstrating key capabilities required to develop a micro-gas analysis (MGA) system that provides orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity and a very high degree of chemical selectivity to achieve false alarm rates that match laboratory gas chromatographs with mass spectrometer detectors. The proposed innovative ideas have the potential to provide revolutionary advances in analysis speed, sensitivity, and chemical discrimination and will enable MGAs with unprecedented analytical performance and system characteristics. Nomadics is a leader in the development of field instruments that have capabilities comparable to or exceeding those of laboratory instruments. We have extensive experience in advanced sensor technologies, including CW agent detection. Dr. Greg Frye-Mason, our PI, was the key innovator and program manager for the µChemLabTM program at Sandia National Laboratories and is experienced in the design of MGA systems. Nomadics Little Optics unit houses microfabrication facilities that are well suited to producing the MGA components. The project team is well equipped to demonstrate prototype components for sample collection, novel two-dimensional chromatography, carrier gas generation, and ultrasensitive and miniature detectors leading to a novel MGA system design.