MEMS-based Porous Silicon Preconcentrators Filled with Carbopack-B for Explosives Detection

In this paper we report the detection of explosive compounds using a miniaturized gas preconcentrator (μGP) made of porous silicon (PS) filled in with Carbopack B as an adsorbent material. The μGP includes also a platinum heater patterned at the backside and fluidic connectors sealed on the glass cover. Our μGP is designed and optimized through fluidic and thermal simulations for meeting the requirements of trace explosives detection. The thermal mass of the device was minimized while the flow rate was maximized for a reduced cycle time. A detection limit below 200ppb of 2, 4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) was demonstrated with our Carbopack-PS μGP.