SBIR Phase I: Integrated Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Sensor for Volatile Organic Compound Detection

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel micro-fabricated gas sensor for detection of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at concentrations below 1 part-per-million. The key enabling innovation is the combination of field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with corona discharge ionization (CDI), with both functions integrated on to a single sensor chip. This integration and the use of batch micro-fabrication techniques will deliver the high sensitivity and selectivity of ion mobility chemical detection in a small, low-cost sensor suitable for air quality monitoring and early warning fire detection. The broader impact of this will be to pave the way for prototyping and testing of a highly sensitive and selective CDI-FAIMS sensor suitable for VOC monitoring in a range of consumer and industrial applications. The adverse health effects of a range of VOCs are well-known, but effective mass-market technologies for monitoring them in domestic and work environments do not yet exist. Commercialization of a small, sensitive, low cost VOC sensor could therefore have an enormous positive impact on human health and safety.