Separation of volatile organic compounds using a MEMS separation column integrated with ion trap mass spectrometer

•This work reports the first silicon microfabricated gas chromatography column integrated with an ion-trap mass spectrometer.•This design enables low power operation and rapid temperature heating, useful for temperature programmed separations.•The system separates a sixteen component mixture containing alkanes up to C17, and other compounds in 22 min with operational power less than 30 W. In this paper we report the first integration of a silicon microfabricated gas chromatography column with an ion trap mass spectrometer. The MEMS-column is fabricated in all silicon materials, with an integrated platinum resistive heater and temperature sensors. This design enables low power operation and rapid temperature heating, which are both useful for temperature programmed separations. The ion trap mass spectrometer has miniaturized electronics, including a compact RF generator, miniature detector system and control electronics which form the walls of the vacuum chamber. The integrated system has been demonstrated to separate a model mixture containing chemicals from different functional groups in under 22 min, while only consuming less than 15 W of power (30 W with vacuum pump).