Characterization of low-temperature cofired ceramic tiles as platforms for gas chromatographic separations

A gas chromatography (GC) column is fabricated within a low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) tile, and its analytical properties are characterized. By using a dual-spiral design, a 100 μm wide square channel up to 15 m in length is produced within an 11 cm × 5.5 cm LTCC tile. The channel is dynamically coated with an OV-101 stationary phase that is cross-linked with dicumyl peroxide. While the uncoated LTCC tiles were able to separate a mixture of n-alkanes, the peak shapes were broad (base width of ~2 min) and tailing. In contrast to this, the coated LTCC tiles produced sharp (base width of ~8-10 s), symmetrical, well-resolved peaks for the same analytes. By using a 7.5 m long channel, about 15,000 plates were obtained for a dodecane test analyte. Further, the coated LTCC tiles were found to produce plate heights that were about 3-fold smaller than those obtained from a conventional capillary GC column of similar length, dimension, and coating operated under the same conditions. As a result, test analyte separations were slightly improved in the LTCC tiles, and their overall performance fared well. In terms of temperature programming, it was found that a series of n-alkanes separated on the LTCC tile provided a cumulative peak capacity of around 54 peaks when using C₈ to C₁₃ as analyte markers. Results indicate that LTCC tiles provide a viable and useful alternative platform for performing good quality GC separations.